Heiress
by artemisgirl
Summary: New student Kagome Higurashi makes (or is it blackmails?) her way into the Host Club, becoming the club's first ever (public) female host! She's beautiful, Kyoya acknowledges, but it's the mystery of her unseen guardian and her aversion to being touched, however, that fascinate Kyoya, as he finds himself being drawn to her more and more...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Inuyasha and Ouran High School crossover! An obscure category, but I've found I _adore_ it. Let's see where this story takes us, shall we? :D  
**

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**Heiress**

Kagome Higurashi wandered the halls of Ouran, not particularly paying attention to where she was going.

Her first day of school hadn't been like a first day of school she'd ever had elsewhere. The President of the school had personally come and introduced himself to her, assuring her that if she should need anything, all she needed to do was to send word, and it'd be taken care of. She'd been taken and fitted for a uniform – a fancy yellow dress with white collar. It seemed ridiculously impractical to study in, but Kagome had held her tongue and put it on. She'd then been led on a grand tour of all of Ouran, which had taken the _entire_ rest of the school day – the campus was just _that_ large. After the last bell, she'd been given a schedule and told she would join the rest of her classmates in classes the next day. Her guide had left her, and Kagome had opted to stay around to see what was going on.

Sesshomaru had insisted she join at least one after-school activity to make acquaintances with children of high-profile families. Kagome hadn't been eager, but she'd acquiesced, though with little grace. She'd hoped to find an archery club to join, but Ouran didn't have one – bows and arrows were too chancy to have around very, _very _expensive pieces of architecture and stained glass, she guessed. The karate club and judo club had been tempting, but – well, Kagome wasn't _fond _of touching strange other people, to say the least. So far, the garden club was her best option, and that wasn't saying much – she really didn't want to spend her days digging in the dirt.

Hearing a chatter from the third music room, Kagome pushed open the door, wondering if she could learn the piano or something. A music club wouldn't be too bad.

"Welcome!"

A wave of warm, rose-scented air blew into her face, catching her off guard. A very attractive, foreign-looking man danced up to her, offering her a rose. He smiled at her charmingly, and from behind him, Kagome could hear a gaggle of girls swoon.

"Welcome to the Host Club!"

He smiled at her again, and Kagome blinked, before hesitantly taking the rose.

"...thank you?" she queried.

The man beamed and pranced away, and Kagome could only stare after him.

"Your first time?"

Kagome turned and stopped.

There was another very good-looking boy looking at her, but this one different in nearly every way from the other, and Kagome found herself lost for words.

He had neat black hair and vivid, piercing gray eyes hidden behind sharp, rimless glasses. He wore his uniform like a model, Kagome thought – she'd never seen someone look so good in just a jacket and pants before. And his skin was flawless – not a spot anywhere on his face. And his lips...

Kagome mentally shook herself, refusing to blush. His face was beautifully sculpted, his eyes enchanting, and there was a mysterious aura around him with swirling grays and blues, she summarized to herself. Nothing threatening, but intriguing nonetheless, and very beautiful. She'd been around beautiful men before.

She could handle this.

"I'm sorry," Kagome said finally. "It said music room. I thought there would be a piano club..."

The boy laughed.

"This room hasn't been used for music in a long time," he said. "But no harm done." He smiled at her. "I'm Kyoya Ootori." He inclined his head.

"Kagome Higurashi." Kagome dipped him a short curtsey.

Curtseys were the only things the ridiculous uniform dress was good for, anyway, in her opinion. At least she'd gotten away so far with not wearing the ridiculous poofy petticoat.

She straightened and glanced about. "What _is_ all this?"

"Ouran High School's Host Club," Kyoya told her, still smiling. "Are you familiar with the concept?"

"Yes, but-" Kagome stared, her mind reeling. "You're all in _high school_."

Kyoya laughed.

"It's a pleasant diversion for all involved, I assure you," he said. "Would you like to meet the others? Perhaps one of them will catch your fancy."

He reached for her arm to lead her, and Kagome deftly stepped aside, her eyes across the room, so it seemed like she hadn't seen him.

"Please," she said, her eyes on the others. "I'm curious now."

Kyoya lead the way over to the multitude of tables, sofas, and chairs, with a plethora of roses scattered about on the tables and floors.

"This is Tamaki Suoh," he said, gesturing to the blonde who had greeted her when she'd come in. "A second year and the Host Club President."

Tamaki was currently entertaining five different girls simultaneously. He had a flamboyant gold aura about him, with streaks of sentimental pink and genuine longing. As Kagome watched, a girl remarked that the tea wasn't to her taste. Tamaki instantly offered to sweeten it with sugar, or, if that was not to her taste, have her drink it from his lips. The girl swooned and the other four squealed, and Tamaki gave them all a charming, princely grin that weakened knees within a 10 foot radius.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at Kyoya, who seemed to stifle a smile.

"Moving on," he said.

He lead her to a much smaller group that sat on a different set of couches. The boys were identical, with light red hair and matching roguish grins. They shared a tight-knit aura of bright, swirling colors, but a red mischievous tone was the brightest. Kagome guessed that they probably got bored easily, and that they tended to create their own excitement when things got dull.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, may I present Kagome Higurashi? This is her first visit to the Host Club." Kyoya turned to her. "Higurashi, may I present first-years Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin?"

Kagome curtseyed again. "Pleased to meet you both."

The twins exchanged a grin, before looking back to her. "Hiiii~!"

"They are the club's premier brotherly love attraction," Kyoya told her.

"You say that like that's a bad thing," Kaoru said. He suddenly looked hurt. "What's wrong with loving the one closest to you?"

"Nothing, Kaoru." Hikaru was suddenly there with him, holding his twin tightly. "Don't listen to him. No one can ever understand our bond."

"Oh, Hikaru..."

They held each other, and there was a shriek of glee and loud swooning and fainting from their fans.

Kagome stifled a giggle and looked to Kyoya, who smiled back at her and moved on.

"This is Mitsukuni Haninozuka, a third year. He commonly goes by 'Honey'," Kyoya said, gesturing. "Honey, this is Kagome Higurashi, a new student here at Ouran."

Honey was short and blonde. When he looked up at her, he had wide blue eyes that sparkled, and his aura was a soft pink mixed with a hard streak of dark blue and black.

"Kagome-chan!" he chirped. "Do you want to play with my bun-bun?"

He held out a stuffed bunny to her, and Kagome couldn't help but smile.

"Maybe later, Honey," she demurred. "Ootori-senpai is showing me around."

Honey beamed at her and skipped back over to his guests, who gushed over his bun-bun.

Kyoya gave her an evaluating look.

"I hadn't pegged you for the loli-shota type," he remarked.

"I'm not," Kagome said. "It's just-"

How could she explain? The wide, colorful eyes and the short, bright hair, combined with the youthful manner...

"-he reminds me of someone," she finished. "That's all."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow but offered her a smile. "Shall we continue?"

He moved on to a tall, stoic looking boy with very short, dark hair. He was sitting on a window seat, looking out of the window. A small group of girls was hiding behind a nearby pillar, watching him with wide eyes. His aura felt hard and strong, with a small whisper of a softer, sweeter side hiding within.

"This is Takashi Morinozuka, who goes by 'Mori'. He's also a third-year student," Kyoya said. "Mori, this is Kagome Higurashi."

"Nice to meet you," Kagome said, curtseying.

Mori looked at her, blinked, and offered her a small smile. There was a jealous shriek from behind the pillar that was quickly muffled.

Kagome rolled her eyes and turned to Kyoya, who smirked and lead her on.

"Not the wild type either?" he said.

"Wild type?" Kagome repeated. She turned around to look back at Mori. "Wouldn't 'brooding type' be more accurate?"

Kyoya chuckled. "Perhaps. He is president of the kendo club, however, and heir to the Morinozuka family, which gives him credence as a strong, wild type."

"So you have loli-shota type, wild type," Kagome ticked off. "The twins were what? The inane incest type?" she asked.

To her surprise, Kyoya laughed – a deep, genuine laugh. Kagome watched him, startled into smiling. Kyoya laughing was much different than Kyoya's polite chuckles or courteous smiles that didn't reach his eyes. When he calmed himself, his eyes were much more alive, and he pushed his glasses up onto his nose. Kagome felt her heart skip at the sight.

"We call them the 'little devil' type," he told her, an amused smile on his face. "And Tamaki is the princely type."

Kagome looked up at Kyoya, biting her lip.

"Do you host?" she asked.

Kyoya gave her a smile, but Kagome was disappointed to see he'd gone back to his default smile – charming, polite, and utterly disingenuous. "Of course," he said.

She sighed to herself. "What type are you?"

"I'm the cool type," he told her.

She was tempted to say that at least his type fit him. Kyoya _was_ cool, but probably not in the way the title was intended. He seemed more cool in manner – like nothing ever surprised him, as he'd planned ahead for any contingency long ago. The gray in his aura would at least support that notion, Kagome thought to herself – it had a cold, determined feel to it.

She glanced around. "Is there anyone else?"

A clock sounded, and there was a loud sigh of distress. Kagome watched as the girls all got up and bid their entertaining hosts good-bye.

"There's one more," Kyoya told her, leading her back toward the group of hosts, all gathering together now that the girls were gone. "Kagome, may I present Haruhi Fujioka, our 'natural' type? Haruhi, this is Kagome Higurashi."

Haruhi turned to look at Kagome and smiled. She was fairly short, had short, brown hair, and large, happy brown eyes. Her aura was bright and friendly, but had a down-to-earth, practical feel that Kagome was immensely grateful to find here in this opulent school.

"Pleased to meet you," she said, smiling. Kagome blinked.

"I'm pleased to meet you as well," Kagome said, smiling. "Pardon me if I'm being oblivious, but... are the girls really allowed to wear the boy's uniforms too?"

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**Read? Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: As a warning: chapter length will be highly variable throughout the story. Some chapters will be very long, and some will be fairly short. Each chapter is a scene, and some scenes are longer than others. :)**

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Tamaki was aghast.

"W-w-what do you mean?" he asked. "Ha ha ha, of course girls aren't allowed to wear the boys' uniforms! What a random non sequitur! Ha ha ha..."

Kagome frowned.

"Then why is Fujioka-san wearing one?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Tamaki said desperately. "All the boys wear this uniform!"

Kagome folded her arms.

"That would make sense," she said pointedly, "if Fujioka was a boy."

There was a silence, the host club members looking from one to another wildly.

Kyoya opened his notebook and turned to his page on Kagome. He had very little information so far – only a note of her name, her class year, and the date of admittance. He'd only gotten the information that day, and he hadn't gone home yet to be able to research her.

He hadn't dreamed it'd be necessary so soon.

"W-w-what are you talking about?" Tamaki began again. "Fujioka is-"

"Stop it, senpai," Haruhi said. She looked up at Kagome. "Yes, I'm a girl. I don't think girls are normally supposed to wear the boys' uniform, though."

"Haruhi's circumstances are complicated," Kyoya said, stepping forward. "The President is aware of the situation and has given her special dispensation to wear the boys' uniform and present herself as a boy."

Haruhi snorted and gave him a dark look, and Kyoya pushed his glasses up, hiding a smile. A debt of eight million yen was certainly a special circumstance.

Kagome gave Haruhi a wry smile.

"Lucky girl," she said, sighing. "This dress is a nightmare."

Haruhi laughed. "I can only imagine," she said, smiling. "Yours looks different than all the other girls', though. What did you do with it?"

"I may have 'misplaced' the petticoat," Kagome admitted, her eyes dancing. "Bad enough I have to wear a fancy dress and collar to all my classes. I'm not about to have a giant cupcake silhouette if I can avoid it."

She did a twirl, and Haruhi laughed. Kyoya watched from behind his glasses.

Kagome was very attractive. He'd noticed before, as soon as he'd met her, but now, with her laughing with Haruhi, it was even more apparent. She had long, black hair, so black it almost seemed like it had blue highlights in the light, and it had good body and style, too. Her eyes were a vivid blue – unusual, in Japan, but not unheard of. She was rather tall, too – not quite as tall as him, of course, but she was only shorter by maybe a couple inches. She had, from what Kyoya could tell, full breasts and a waspy waist as well, and she had _very _long legs, highlighted by the drape of her dress to her calves. Her decision to forgo the petticoat was a wise one – the lay of her uniform was more flattering to her shape this way, and she looked more mature in her femininity, compared to some of his classmates.

She glanced up at him, still smiling, and her eyes were sparkling. Kyoya cleared his throat and looked back down to his notebook.

She was very, _very _attractive.

"Kyoyaaaaa," Tamaki whined. "What are we going to do?"

Kyoya was making notes in his notebook about Kagome. "About what?"

"This new girl knows about Haruhi's gender!" Hikaru said.

"What if she tells?" Kaoru chimed in.

"That could be bad for Haru-chan!" Honey said, his large eyes even rounder with worry. "Right, Takashi?"

"Mm," agreed Mori.

Kyoya sighed and snapped his notebook closed.

"Higurashi-san," he said.

Kagome turned from talking with Haruhi to look at him. "Yes?"

"As you may have surmised, Haruhi's true gender is somewhat of a secret," Kyoya told her. "If this secret were revealed to others, we would... be displeased."

Kagome looked contemplative. "Who all knows Haruhi's secret?" she asked.

Kyoya blinked.

"Just us!" Tamaki told her, pulling Haruhi close to him. Haruhi made a face and escaped from his arms, muttering. "We're a special family," Tamaki told her, reaching for Haruhi again.

"The members of the host club and the president," Kyoya clarified, rolling his eyes at Tamaki's antics. "And one student in class 1-D who has been sworn to secrecy."

"Oh, Bossanova-kun," Hikaru said, nodding.

"I'd forgotten about him," Kaoru said, agreeing.

Kagome looked speculative.

"So most everyone who knows Haruhi is a girl is in the host club," she summarized.

"That's correct..." Kyoya said slowly.

Kagome looked up at him. Kyoya had been doing the look-up-from-below trick to enchant girls for years, but it was his first time being on the other end of it. Kagome's eyes were dark, enchanting, and his heart leapt into his throat.

"Then I should be in the host club too," Kagome said, her eyes sparkling at him.

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**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment, and it means the world to me~**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Dearhearts, if you read it, _please_ review!** **It only takes a moment, and it's a bit nonsensical when my story has move 'favorites' than reviews! :P**

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The Host Club formed a quick huddle across the room from Kagome and Haruhi.

"Kagome is a girl!" Hikaru said.

"The Host Club is not a place for girls!" Kaoru objected.

"Haru-chan is a girl," Honey pointed out.

"That doesn't count!"

"Haruhi doesn't count!"

"What do you think, Tama-chan?" Honey asked.

Tamaki looked torn.

"I don't like the idea of adding a girl host to our club," he said lowly. "But..."

He turned to look at Haruhi, and everyone looked over at Haruhi too. She was laughing and talking with Kagome, who was laughing too. Tamaki turned back into the huddle, his face pained.

"My Haruhi is a growing girl," he said. "She needs female companionship. And if she has it, maybe she will come to embrace her own femininity-!"

"Don't be an idiot, tono," the twins droned, hitting Tamaki on the head.

"Aah! Mom! Make them stop!"

Kyoya sighed, snapping his notebook shut, decision made.

"A girl host could help bring in more customers," he told them, "and it might help reduce the complaints that are made against us to the Board as well. I'm in favor of giving her a trial period to see how she works out."

"Kyoya!" Kaoru objected.

"Why not just threaten her like you did Bossanova?" Hikaru whined.

"Because I don't _know_ her," Kyoya said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "I know nothing about her other than her name, her year in school, and that she's starting classes tomorrow."

"What year is she in?" Hikaru asked.

"Ours," Kaoru said dully. "She just told Haruhi."

"Furthermore, just because I don't recognize her name does not mean she is not highly connected somewhere," Kyoya said firmly. "She's not a scholarship student, and she was still able to get into class 1-A."

He let that sink in. At a school where lineage mattered first, money a close second, it was unlikely it would be a good idea to make enemies with Kagome Higurashi without knowing anything else about her.

Judging from the looks on the others' faces, his point was made.

"Fine," Hikaru said grudgingly. "Give her a trial period."

"Of three days?" Kaoru suggested.

"Of a _month_," Kyoya said firmly. "To see how she works out."

The twins sighed but nodded.

"She _won't_ work out," Kaoru grumbled. "We don't need her here."

"I can't believe Kyoya's letting us be blackmailed by her," Hikaru muttered.

Kyoya's glasses flashed, and he shot them a look to freeze blood.

"We are _not_ being blackmailed." His tone was low and icy, and the twins clutched each other and shivered, sensing danger. "We are reaching a mutually beneficial arrangement. Higurashi asked to join the Host Club, and we are more than happy to have her. At no point did she threaten us or threaten to reveal Haruhi's identity if we did not agree."

The twins exchanged a glance.

"She didn't, did she?" Hikaru wondered.

"She must be even more skilled in unsaid threats than Kyoya!" Kaoru agreed.

"The implication was definitely there-"

"-even if she didn't say it out loud-"

"So now," Kyoya said firmly, cutting off the twins, "we are going to go back over and welcome our new hostess. We are going to make every effort to make her feel welcome and to make this a highly profitable venture for everyone involved."

They all nodded. Tamaki looked determined and slightly excited. Honey looked happy, and Mori looked unfazed. The twins still looked annoyed, but Kyoya didn't particularly care.

They broke the huddle and walked back over to Haruhi and Kagome, who were currently discussing the best way to get stains out of towels.

"Kagome," Tamaki said, giving her a sweeping bow. "I would like to formally welcome you to the host club! You will be our first female host."

He held out his hand to her, which Kagome eyed askance, before smiling in amusement.

"It's a pleasure, my lord" she murmured, giving him a grand curtsey in response. Haruhi snickered, and Tamaki looked surprised, then happy.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered to Kyoya. "She called me lord!"

Kyoya smirked. Only Tamaki would get so excited by something so trivial.

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**Read it? Please, review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Many thanks for your kind words of encouragement! I love reading your reviews! :)**

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Kagome was working out _wonderfully_.

Though the day's costumes would highlight the hosts' best features, they had been planned to show off their first-ever hostess's beauty. Kagome had been surprised when she was given a costume, but laughed and agreed, going off to change with Haruhi.

Tamaki looked majestic as a pharaoh, his crown and collar heavy with beads and jewels and his chest left bare. Hikaru and Kaoru made excellent royal guards and were having fun with their tall hats, and Mori and Honey looked good in their casual Egyptian wear – bare-chested save a sash of fabric from shoulder to opposite hip. Haruhi looked good as the royal scribe, and was even wearing a little eyeliner around her eyes to look more Egyptian. Kyoya himself looked good himself as the royal vizier – nothing too fancy, but definitely nothing plain – but it was Kagome who stood out the most.

Dressed as Cleopatra, Kagome wore a magnificent beaded headpiece of gold and diamonds on her pitch-black hair. She wore a long white dress with a heavy gold collar, and there were long slits up the side of the dress, showcasing her legs. She'd even put on the gold high-heeled gladiator sandals he'd included, the straps winding their way up her calves, making her even taller, and she'd done her makeup in an exotic Egyptian fashion as well, making her odd blue eyes even more piercing.

When girls had first started to come in for the day's entertainment and were greeted by the host club in their entirety, there had been gasps, then startled, alarmed looks, then hushed whispering and phone calls to friends.

"A girl-!"

"They've got a _girl-!_"

Kyoya had watched in amusement as the girls settled down with their favorite hosts, still casting darting looks over at Kagome, who'd been chatting with Haruhi, as neither of them had any customers yet. Still more girls arrived, curious, all of them gossiping as they waited for their turn with a host. As word spread, though, it hadn't taken long until a boy glanced in, stopped, did a double-take, and then ran off. Five minutes later, he was back with a pack of boys, all of them peeking their heads in.

Even if none of the boys ever came in, Kagome's mere presence had tripled their attendance from the girls – an exceedingly profitable day.

"Higurashi," Kyoya called. "A moment, please."

Kagome stood from her place on the couch with Haruhi and stretched slightly. Her back arched luxuriously, her arms reaching over her head, and then she smiled a small, mysterious smile as she walked over to Kyoya, taking long, graceful strides, her bare legs flashing through the slits on her skirt.

The boys looked enchanted, and one of them looked about to drool. Kyoya smiled to himself.

"Yes, Ootori-kun?" she asked.

"Kyoya, please," he told her, smiling. "I can see you're about to get some customers. Do you have a plan for hosting?"

"A plan?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Tamaki is our princely type," Kyoya reminded her. "Haruhi our natural, the twins our devils. What are you?"

A smile flitted around her lips.

"I was thinking I would be the mysterious type," she told him. "Guys like a challenge. If it's too easy, they lose interest."

Kyoya considered. "Do you think you can play it well?"

Kagome's eyes were layered and dark when they met his again.

"Play, Kyoya-kun?" she said. She smiled, a mysterious, teasing smile, but there was little joy in it. "I hardly think I'll have to."

Kagome walked off, giving Kyoya glimpses of her shapely calves in her golden heels as she did.

"Umm... Ootori-senpai?"

Kyoya looked down to see a hesitant looking boy of average looks. His mind whizzed and whirred as he tried to place him.

"Junnosuke-kun," he acknowledged. "Good to see you."

The boy looked momentarily thrown at being recognized, but recovered.

"This is the Host Club, right?" he asked.

"It is." Kyoya inclined his head.

"Then... can I designate Higurashi?" he said in a rush. "If she's a host too?"

Kyoya screened his spreading smirk from view with his notebook.

"Higurashi is indeed our first hostess," he told him. "It looks like she has a few openings right now."

"Really?" Another boy darted across the room, having heard Kyoya's words. "Then I want to designate Higurashi too."

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

Kyoya hurried them through the paperwork, and soon, Kagome was entertaining a group of five boys on one of the furniture sets. None of Kyoya's own regulars had designated him today – they'd all opted for Haruhi today, presumably to interrogate her about the new girl she'd been seen speaking with – which left him free to spy on the new hostess.

Kagome had claimed the entire sofa, reclining herself gracefully on it sideways, one of her legs bent to show just enough bare leg. Her torso faced them, as well as her head, and all the boys looked enchanted, sitting on the edges of their chairs.

"C-can I pour the tea for you, Higurashi?" one of them stammered out. Kagome turned to look at him, and the boy gulped.

"If you pour enough for everybody, Zutsuma-kun." Her voice was lower than Kyoya remembered, with a suggestive, husky quality. "I would appreciate it."

"R-right!"

Flustered, the boy leapt to his feet to pour the tea for everybody. Kagome watched him as he performed the tea service, even asking everybody if they wanted cream or sugar, before sitting back in his chair eagerly.

"Thank you, Zutsuma-kun," she said. Her eyes locked with the boy's, whose eyes widened. "That was noble of you to do for me..."

Her voice trailed off at the end of the sentence, leaving it hanging, and the boy blushed darkly but sat up straighter, proud. Kagome took her own tea and drank, before asking the boys about their day.

Kyoya wondered at her strategy. He would have thought the boys would want her to serve them – like a girlfriend might do for her boyfriend, to replicate that sort of bond – but Kagome seemed to have captivated them all instantly.

"She only has so many customers because she wouldn't tell anyone anything about her in class."

Kyoya turned.

"Hikaru, Kaoru," he acknowledged, pushing his glasses up. "What do you mean?"

"She's in our class," Kaoru said. "No one knows where she's from, and she didn't seem inclined to tell."

"Do you know?" Hikaru demanded.

Kyoya opened his notebook and cleared his throat.

"Kagome Higurashi. Class 1-A. Went to an unremarkable public middle school in Tokyo and missed classes frequently due to various illnesses. Took the Ouran admittance exam and was admitted over the break.

"The Higurashi family owns a shrine where Kagome lived until her admittance into Ouran. Since then, she has not been back home, nor has she seen any of her high school friends."

He snapped his notebook shut, and Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged an incredulous glance.

"That's _it?_"

"That's _**it**_?!"

"_That_ is all the information that could be garnered in one night," Kyoya informed them. "I have people looking into her medical records and asking around with her old acquaintances, but that takes time. What information do _you_ have on her?"

Hikaru sniffed. "Only that she has some mystery guardian that's watching out for her."

"She refused to say anything else about it," Kaoru said. "Said it wasn't her decision."

Kyoya felt intrigued.

"Maybe she has been named heir to the CEO of a large corporation that has no heir of their own," he posited. "She'd then be forbidden from claiming proper kinship with such a guardian until she was announced and presented to society as the heir."

Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged a doubtful glance.

"Why would someone from a large company-"

"-want _her_ to inherit everything?"

Kyoya didn't answer. He was watching Kagome as she interacted with her guests. Every movement she made was slow and graceful, and her language was ever so slightly suggestive, making each guest she spoke to individually wonder if she was flirting at something more.

She had a natural way with people, Kyoya concluded, pushing his glasses up. He opened his notebook. He knew from the previous day that she didn't act like this all the time, but it didn't seem like much of a stretch for her either, somehow.

When the clock chimed, the boys were all visibly upset that they had to leave.

"Club meetings don't need to be over for another half-hour!" Junnosuke objected.

"If we don't have to leave, I'm not moving," Zutsuma insisted.

Kagome laughed.

"The club members have to meet now and discuss how the day went and what to plan for tomorrow," she told them. She looked up at them through her heavy eyelashes. "Surely you'll want to see something just as special as Egypt tomorrow...?"

She let her sentence dangle again, and Kyoya could almost see the boys' eyes spiral, dizzy with their imagination of what majestic picture she might paint the next day.

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"We'll come again tomorrow, Higurashi!" Junnosuke promised, hurrying to leave. "See you in class!"

The boys left with the regular female customers, who glanced back at Kagome as they left. When the last customer had shut the door behind them, there was a collective sense of relaxing that went through the room.

"I thought they'd never leave," Hikaru groused, stretching his arms.

"_Tell _me about it," Kagome groaned, stretching and arching her back. "If one more of them started telling me about how awesome his father was and how he was the eldest son, I would have broken my tea cup and shoved a shard through his eye."

Hikaru and Kaoru looked surprised, then they started to laugh.

"You should have done it, Kagome!"

"No one would have blamed you if it was Junnosuke!"

"Does he always go on like that?" Kagome demanded. "Honestly! Like anyone cares that his dad controls the largest market share of furniture! _Everyone _at this school has high-society families!"

Hikaru and Kaoru snickered.

"He's always bragging like that," Hikaru said. "Going on and on about furniture-"

"We stole his desk chair, once," Kaoru said, grinning. "Told him he should just replace it with a better-class one, with a cushion, since he had such great furniture connections-"

"-and he took us _seriously!_" Hikaru crowed, laughing. "The teacher was mad, but Junnosuke was such an idiot-"

"Are you two being mean about Koki-kun again?" Haruhi demanded, coming over and hitting them over the head. "It's not his fault all he knows about is furniture!"

"Then he should pay more attention in class and learn about something else!" Kaoru objected.

"Besides, it's Kagome's fault! She brought it up!" Hikaru complained.

Haruhi looked at Kagome, who shrugged, an impish smile on her face. Kyoya was captivated by the playful sparkle in her eyes.

"What can I say?" she said. "He was boring."

Haruhi smiled a little herself.

"Yeah," she admitted. "I guess he is."

Hikaru and Kaoru immediately began to dance around her, crowing about being right the whole time, while Haruhi hotly defended the position that someone being boring was no reason to be mean to them. Kyoya raised an eyebrow and looked back down at Kagome, who was leaning over her legs.

"Higurashi?" he asked. "What are you doing?"

"Taking off these dratted shoes." Her voice was muffled. "Ugh, I wanted to take them off halfway through. Things like these are fine every so often for costumes, but they make my legs and feet _ache..._"

Her final shoe off, she sat back up, rubbing her sore feet. She let out a soft moan, her eyes rolling shut as she massaged them, and Kyoya felt his throat close.

"Bad planning," he quipped. "If you hadn't waited, one of your doting customers would have offered to rub them for you."

Kagome's eyes met Kyoya's.

"Maybe that's why I waited."

"Kagome, are you coming to change?"

Kagome glanced over at Haruhi and nodded.

"Yes, coming."

She hooked a finger around her shoes and stood, putting her eyes a little lower than Kyoya's eye level. Her eyes held his as she moved past him before breaking away as she strode toward the changing room with Haruhi.

Kyoya watched her go, smiling to himself. So far, their hostess had been a grand success.

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**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment, and it means the world to me~**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I have the best readers! You all are so kind with your reviews! I still get amused every time one of you asks "but why doesn't she like being touched...?" Try and figure it out and guess in your reviews, darlings~!**

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The host club continued much in the same way the rest of the week, to Kyoya's pleasure.

Kagome was an enjoyable person to be around. She and Haruhi chatted about commoner things and bemoaned the nature of their opulent classmates together, and Kyoya could tell that the friendship there was growing strong. She teased the twins just as they teased her, giving as good as she got, and Kyoya wondered what those four were like together in class. Kagome's smiles and easy laughter were enchanting – he wondered if any of her male classmates were able to focus on their work with her around.

Kagome got along with Honey and Mori well, too. Kagome seemed to take pleasure in giving Honey commoner sweets to eat, like pocky or sweet-bean rolls. His happy smiles and enthusiastic thanks made Kagome smile in return, though it was a slow smile, much different than her smiles with the twins and Haruhi. Mori seemed okay with Kagome as well – Kyoya suspected that anyone who was okay with Honey would be okay with Mori too.

Tamaki seemed the most conflicted regarding Kagome. On one hand, Haruhi was really opening up now, not only to Kagome, but to them all, which had been Tamaki's hope. Kagome had even convinced Haruhi to wear a little eye makeup on Egyptian day, which had put Tamaki over the moon. On the other hand, Kagome didn't fit into Tamaki's mental image of their 'family' very well. Whenever Tamaki crowed over his new daughter, Kagome dodged his hugs with astonishing reflexes and a quick quip, putting Tamaki into a gloom and making the twins laugh. Kyoya suspected Tamaki would end up designating Kagome an aunt or some other less-related family member in order to cope, but until then, Tamaki's periodic funks would continue.

And for himself...

Kyoya found Kagome _interesting_. It had been a long time since he had been so intrigued by someone, and the first time he'd been intrigued by a girl his own age. The more he learned about her, the more questions he had. Her manner with her guests was so startlingly different than her everyday manner, but still, it somehow seemed not far off. She continued to deny them any information about her mysterious guardian, and to Kyoya's frustration, he couldn't find anything else out about it.

What he _had_ discovered were her medical records.

"What do you mean, nothing?" Hikaru demanded.

"Keep your voice down," Kyoya said quietly, his eyes on Kagome, who was entertaining half a dozen boys across the room. "I mean exactly that."

"But you said she missed all that school in middle school due to illness!" Kaoru objected weakly.

"Nevertheless," Kyoya continued, looking at his notebook. "Kagome has very little on her medical records from those three years. Regular physicals, one bout of the flu, occasional injuries, and one broken arm. Nothing like her school was talking about. Although..." His eyes narrowed at her chart.

"What?" Hikaru said, leaning over Kyoya's arm to look. "What? What?"

"Tell us!" Kaoru insisted.

Kyoya's eyes scanned her chart again, astonished, before looking up and carefully considering Kagome.

"Her broken arm happened two weeks before she began Ouran," Kyoya said finally. "It says she fell down a well and snapped it. The doctor put it in a cast."

Hikaru and Kaoru both looked over at Kagome, who was sending one of her customers to get more tea and sweets, the boy only too eager to do as she bid.

"...Kagome's not wearing a cast," Kaoru said finally.

"I don't think her arm is broken at all," Hikaru said.

"I know that," Kyoya snapped. "Anyone can tell at a glance that she has full range of movement with her arm and no pain. There's no snapped ulna, there's no bruising, and there's clearly no evidence of a reduction."

Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged a look.

"I wouldn't be able to tell that at a glance," Hikaru muttered.

"The issue, then," Kyoya said, pushing his glasses up, "is why it was on her chart, when her arm is clearly not broken."

"Maybe it was only a little break and it got better?" Kaoru ventured.

Kyoya gave him a dark look, and Kaoru grinned sheepishly.

A clock chimed, and Kyoya watched as all Kagome's guests reluctantly stood to leave, bidding their goodbyes. One of them hurried over to Kyoya.

"Ootori-senpai," he said.

"Kamenashi-kun," Kyoya acknowledged.

"Is it possible to designate Kagome for Monday?" he asked, his words all in a rush. "I almost didn't get in today – she had so many guests-"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow and opened his notebook.

"Unfortunately, it is not possible to designate hosts in advance," he told him. "However, if you wish, we do have a website with various host and hostess merchandise and photos-"

"Really?!"

Kyoya handed the boy a business card with the host club website on it, and the boy bowed low and took it, thanking him profusely and promising to be back Monday.

"I've never seen that," Kaoru commented.

"Designating a host in advance?" Hikaru snorted. "Stupid boy. What if he got sick?"

They all turned back to look at the boy, who had stopped to talk to Kagome.

Kagome smiled at him slightly and said something to him, and the boy responded in earnest. Kagome nodded and smiled, and the boy said something again, looking more insistent. Kagome gave him a puzzled look and said something, and the boy looked more desperate, saying something rapidly and reaching for her hand.

"Don't touch me!"

Kagome's words were like a whip through the room, and she visibly recoiled from the boy's hand, her eyes wide and terrified. The boy looked confused and said something else, taking a step toward her.

Kyoya reacted instantly.

"My apologies, Kamenashi-kun, but hosting time is over," he said, smoothly sliding between him and Kagome. "You'll be able to talk more with Kagome on Monday."

"But-" The boy looked lost, then hung his head. "Okay."

He slouched out, looking back at Kagome from the doorway, then finally the door closed behind him. Kyoya whirled around to look at Kagome, while the twins darted over.

"What did he do?" Kaoru demanded, appearing at her side. "Was he being indecent?"

Hikaru cracked his knuckles ominously. "If he was..."

"It's fine." Kagome's face was pale, as if she'd seen a ghost. She bit her lip. "It's fine, it's fine."

"Are you sure, Kagome?" Kyoya asked, looking at her from over his glasses. "You look like you don't feel well."

"I'm _fine_, Kyoya-kun." She took a deep breath, as if to steady herself. "I just... I don't like to be touched."

She made her way over to Tamaki, her legs only shaking ever so slightly as she did. Kyoya watched her go, considering. He saw as she neatly side-stepped Tamaki's loud bemoaning of a boy trying to assault his new daughter and subsequent hug, and a thought occurred to him.

"Have any of you ever touched her?" he asked. "Not inappropriately, mind – but anything. A hug, and handshake, a bump...?"

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other.

"...I don't think so," Kaoru said.

"She always seems to dodge our hugs or when we'd almost bump into her," Hikaru said, tilting his head.

"Do you think she does it on purpose?" Kaoru asked, tilting his head the opposite way.

Kyoya flipped open his notebook to Kagome's page.

"Have you ever seen Tamaki succeed in hugging her?" he asked. "Or Honey, for that matter?"

The twins looked at each other, then to Kyoya, their faces blank.

"That's what I thought," Kyoya murmured, his glasses flashing.

Kagome didn't like to be touched. But why...?

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**Read it? Please, review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: A short but poignant interlude. The next update will bring a visitor for Kagome! Who can guess who it might be...?**

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Monday at the host club brought a surprise.

"They're new Host Club uniforms!" the twins chorused, holding up fancy new clothes.

"It was m'lord's idea," Hikaru said, grinning. "Now that we have both boys and girls coming in as customers-"

"-and both boys and girls hosting-" Kaoru continued.

"-we needed a way to better differentiate the hosts from the customers when we're not in costume!"

Hikaru and Kaoru began handing out uniforms. Kyoya looked at his and nodded, approvingly. It was remarkably similar to the Ouran school uniform, only with the jacket in a flattering green. The pants were black, like Ouran's, and the tie had green and dark green alternating stripes. There was a large, fancy crest on the breast of the blazer – one Kyoya hadn't seen before.

"The official Ouran Host Club crest?" he asked, looking closer. He glanced up. "I didn't realize we had one."

"I decided we needed one!" Tamaki said, beaming. "How could we be a proper host club without our own club crest? Imagine-"

He went off, swirling around the room, explaining his visions of a high-class castle and its inhabiting family, all distraught without the uniting factor of a family crest, and Kyoya tuned him out. He turned to look at Kagome, who was running the fabric of hers through her hands.

She, too, had a blazer, but her tie was a long strip of green-striped fabric, meant to be tied into a bow. Instead of pants, she had a green and dark green plaid pleated skirt. She held it up to her and shook her head, but she was smiling.

Kyoya felt a rush of sudden gratitude for the twins. Getting Kagome into a short skirt and matching knee socks would _definitely _bring in more customers. Not to mention the very nice view _he'd _get to see on a regular basis...

He pushed the matter from his mind and approached her.

"Are you left handed?" Kyoya asked her, and Kagome looked up at him, a puzzled expression on her face.

"No," she said. She held up her right hand, which still had her new uniform blazer in it. "I'm right handed."

"Ah, I see," Kyoya said, pushing his glasses up. "I thought you might be favoring your right hand because your left one still pained you from your injury."

"My injury?" Kagome said, astonished. "I haven't been injured-"

"Your broken arm," Kyoya said, cutting her off. "It was broken recently, wasn't it?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"I don't know what you mean, Kyoya-kun," she said demurely. "I've never broken my arm."

"Ah, my mistake," Kyoya said graciously. "I had heard-"

"No, really," Kagome said, pushing up her left sleeve. "You must have been mistaken. Look."

She rotated her arm slowly under his eyes. Her arm was flawless, a long stretch of ivory skin. There was no irritation on the skin from a plaster on the arm, no bruising from awkward mistakes trying to instinctively use an injured limb, and no scarring from misplaced bones.

"See, if I had broken my humerus, you'd be able to see a scar here," she said, touching part of her arm, "where it most commonly snaps. If I'd broken my radius, there would be some marks here and here. And if I'd broken my ulna..."

Her usually bright blue eyes seemed much darker as they met his, and they glittered.

"There would definitely be bruising at the elbow and wrist if it was a recent injury, and definitely some scarring at the lower carpals." She smiled sweetly at him. "Right, Kyoya-kun?"

She was right. She was _right_, and she knew it, and Kyoya hadn't the slightest idea _how _she had such detailed medical knowledge. And she _didn't_ have any such scars.

If she had broken her ulna, she would have those scars. She didn't have those scars, therefore, she'd never broken her arm.

He murmured his agreement and watched her go off to change into her new uniform, wondering to himself. He'd have to have a word with the doctors that saw her. Falsifying medical documents was a serious offense.

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**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment, and it means the world to me! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I love reading all your predictions for what's to come! Some of you have such neat ideas. I'm glad I've written far, far ahead so I don't end up stealing anything! :)**

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The customers loved the Host Club's new uniforms, many of them exclaiming over how nice they looked and how rich the materials were. The twins basked in the attention, loving it, explaining how they'd designed them with the help of their mother, and how they'd personally made them all over the weekend. The girls squealed, begging the Hitachiins to design them their own special garments as well.

Kyoya smirked, pushing his glasses up. He doubted the twins had personally sewn the garments themselves – they'd have gotten bored with it quickly. It was more likely their servants or their mother's workers had accomplished the task so speedily.

Kagome's customers were _extremely _grateful, Kyoya could tell. Kagome had lounged sideways on the sofa today, much as she had done the first day, and her skirt was short enough that it almost revealed a scandalous amount of thigh – almost, but not quite. Kyoya wondered if Kagome had carefully posed herself before the guests came in – he wondered if she was calculating enough to do such a thing. Regardless, the pose was working – it seemed like a few of the boys were struggling to find the words to answer Kagome's inquiries about their days and their hobbies.

"There's a strange boy around."

Kyoya turned to see Mori, who was looking down at him, and Honey, who was looking up. Kyoya hid his surprise at Mori speaking to him.

"A strange boy?"

"Wearing a different school uniform. One with a black jacket," he said.

"Do you think he's dangerous?" Honey asked, blinking up at Kyoya. "The girls said he was asking how to get to the 3rd music room."

Kyoya's glasses flashed. "We will see."

A bell chimed, and the guests rotated. As a new group of six settled in to talk to Kagome, the strange boy came in and looked around.

He was decidedly average looking, Kyoya noted, with an odd, short haircut and dusty brown hair. His face was thoroughly unremarkable, and his school uniform identified him as a student of Segaki High, a public school down farther in Tokyo. Kyoya was unimpressed.

_Kagome, _though...

Kagome reacted as though she'd seen an assassin. She sat up, stiffened, and Kyoya could see that she had to force herself to relax with her next group of guests. Kyoya raised an eyebrow and made a mark in his notebook.

"Umm, excuse me?"

The strange boy bowed to Kyoya.

"Are students not from Ouran permitted to request time with hosts?" he asked.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow.

"Pardon me, but I'm not the club president," he said, smiling and bowing politely. "Excuse me one moment, and I'll find out."

Kyoya slid over to Tamaki.

"Tamaki," he said lowly, just in his ear. "We may have a problem."

Tamaki's fans squealed at the picture of boy-boy love.

Tamaki turned to Kyoya, confused. Kyoya nodded toward the strange new boy, and Tamaki's eyes widened at his strange uniform. He stood.

"My apologies, my ladies," Tamaki announced, sweeping a dramatic bow to them. "Duty calls. I will tear myself away and return to you as soon as possibly possible. Adieu!"

"Adieu!" his fans called after him.

"Who is he?" Tamaki asked, his eyes dramatically wide. "Is he a threat?"

Kyoya stifled a snort. "I sincerely doubt it."

"Why is he here?"

Kyoya turned slightly to look at Kagome, who was still entertaining, stiffness evident in her back.

"I think he knows Kagome," Kyoya said. "Possibly from her middle school."

"She looks uncomfortable," Tamaki said. He frowned, his lower lip wobbling. "I don't want my daughter to feel uncomfortable! What if he is some cad who tortured her endlessly at her old school? Should we refuse him?"

Kyoya pushed his glasses up.

"Kagome is on a probationary period," he said. "I would like to see how she deals with someone she has known for a long time. After all, the rest of us certainly do every day."

Tamaki nodded slowly, then smiled.

"If there is a problem, I can always come to her rescue," he said grandly. "He may be admitted, Kyoya. Thank you."

He went off, returning to his customers. Kyoya returned to the boy.

"As it happens, guests not from Ouran _are_ allowed," he said, smiling. He pushed up his glasses. "There's just a bit of paperwork. What's your name?"

"Daisuke Hojo."

"And what school do you go to?"

Kyoya managed to keep Hojo talking the entire time he was waiting for the next time slot. Hojo didn't seem to be a very bright boy – he continued answering questions like "what is your reason for visiting the host club today?" and "how did you first meet your designated host or hostess?" in a cheerful, oblivious manner, giving Kyoya a glimpse into Kagome's past life and that of this strange boy.

When the bell finally chimed, Hojo hurried over for his turn, and Kyoya turned to watch.

"Higurashi!"

Kagome slowly turned to look at him, giving him a small smile.

"Hojo-kun," she said. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"I haven't seen you since that big math test!" he told her. He paused. "Though, I did see you briefly at Eri's right after you broke your arm."

Kagome hardly faltered, but Kyoya could see her stiffen in her seat slightly.

That small movement gave her away.

She _had_ broken her arm. She _must_ have. But where was the scarring? Where was her _cast?_ His mind spinning, Kyoya opened his notebook and rapidly began to take notes.

He did, however, make sure to keep an eye on Kagome talking to Hojo.

"I've never broken my arm, Hojo-kun," she said. Her fake confusion was a marvel to behold, Kyoya thought. She was a much better actress than he thought. "What are you talking about?"

It was Hojo's turn to look confused.

"But – it was definitely broken!" he insisted. "You were at Eri's to pick up the bike she borrowed the day afterward. I wrote my name on your cast!"

"When did this happen?" Kagome said, tilting her head in puzzlement. "I don't remember anything like this."

"It happened – well, it happened about three weeks ago now..." Hojo faltered.

Kagome's forehead wrinkled. "Eh? Hojo-kun, if I'd broken my arm then, it'd still be in a cast, ne?"

Hojo looked startled. "Oh! I suppose you're right!" He looked down. "I must have dreamed it, then."

Kyoya expected Kagome to be coy, to make some comment about him seeing her in his dreams, but to his surprise, Kagome didn't go down that path.

"How is Eri?" she asked instead. "She went to your school too, didn't she?"

"Oh, she's doing well," Hojo said, nodding. "She got elected class president."

"Already? She must be so happy."

"I think Yuka and her still hang out at the Wacdonald's all the time..."

Kagome wasn't flirting with him at _all_. Kyoya's impulse was to write her down for bad hostessing, but from her manner, well...

It was like Kagome was trying _not_ to flirt.

It seemed like Kagome was making a very deliberate attempt to keep the conversation as one of two friends who hadn't seen each other in a while. She'd sat up and smoothed down her skirt to cover more of herself, she had poured the tea for them, and there were only small, nostalgic smiles, none of the coy smirks she liked to give her customers.

When the bell chimed, they both stood up.

"That's it for today," Kagome said. "It was good to see you, Hojo."

"You too, Higurashi," Hojo said earnestly. "We should do this again soon. Say, at a movie on Saturday...?"

Kagome looked pained.

"Hojo, I'm just not interested."

"Oh? If you don't like movies, we can-"

"No, Hojo," Kagome said with a sigh. "I'm not interested in dating you."

Hojo looked thrown.

"But we dated all throughout middle school," he objected.

Kagome looked exasperated now.

"Hojo, can you name one time we actually went out on a date?" she said. "Or any time actually I accepted an invitation of yours where Eri and Yuka didn't do it for me?"

Hojo looked distressed. Kyoya wondered if he might cry.

"But... all those times... all the medical gifts I brought you..." He bit his bottom lip. "You never...?"

"You're a very sweet boy, Hojo, and a wonderful friend," Kagome said softly. "But you and I were never meant to be. You'd be much better off with someone like Eri. You know she's been mad about you since grade school."

"Eh?" Hojo's eyes went wide. "Eri?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh, come _on_ Hojo," she said. "Surely you've noticed all her eyelash-batting and adoring admiration of your various skills...?"

"I... I thought she was being polite." Hojo's face was flushed. "She... Eri... Wow, really? I..."

Kyoya took the opportunity to step in.

"I'm very sorry, Hojo, but hosting is done for today," he said, bowing slightly. "Thank you for coming."

"Oh, right," said Hojo. "Well, uh, thanks. It was good to see you, Higurashi!" He grinned at Kagome, sheepishly.

Kagome gave him a ghost of a smile. "It was nice to see you too, Hojo-kun."

Kyoya watched as Hojo left with the other straggling guests, the door closing behind them. As soon as the door closed, the twins pounced.

"So you dated him in middle school?" Kaoru said, plopping down on the couch on her right.

"Why would you date _him_?" Hikaru sniffed, plopping down on her left. "He's so _boring_."

"If you heard me, I said I _didn't_ date him." Kagome stood up, escaping the couch. "He just kept asking me out."

"And you kept turning him down?" Hikaru said.

Kaoru laughed. "That's cold, Kagome!"

Kagome sniffed. "Well, if he'd just _listened..._"

"Why did you turn him down, though?" Haruhi asked, coming over and leaning on the couch. "He seems harmless enough. It might have been fun."

Kagome bit her lip.

"I was busy a lot of the time," she said. "And things were... complicated."

The twins whooped with glee.

"So you _did_ date in middle school!" Hikaru crowed.

"Just not Hojo!" Kaoru chirped in.

"Who did you date, Kagome? Tell us!"

"Tell us! Tell us!" they chorused.

"I didn't 'date' _anyone_," Kagome defended. "There was just..."

She trailed off, looking away. She suddenly looked terribly young and lonely, and Kyoya felt the urge to go to her and hold her, to reassure her that she wasn't as alone in the world as she thought.

"There were extenuating circumstances," Kagome said finally. "If you'll excuse me..."

She went to the changing room, Haruhi joining her, and the twins looked at one another and shrugged before going off to bother Tamaki.

Kyoya carefully made some notes into his notebook, pushing his odd impulse to hug Kagome to the back of his mind.

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**Read it? Please, review! Your reviews mean the world to me :)  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I love reading your theories on all the mysteries going on. Methinks this one will be the favorite of many of you...**

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"The Host Club Halloween party will be spectacular!" Tamaki declared to his guests. "It will go down in the annals of Ouran history as the grandest, most extravagant and perfect party ever!"

Kyoya sighed and toyed with his pen idly. He hadn't realized how serious Tamaki had been when he'd first tossed out the idea of a Halloween party. An extravagant party meant hundreds of expenses. He'd have to come up with a way to make this party profitable somehow.

"Ah, tono, can't we plan the party later?" Hikaru whined.

"We have customers now," Kaoru added.

Tamaki looked upset.

"How can you be so casually dismissive of the mystery for Halloween?" he demanded. "Halloween is a holiday steeped in ritual that we must observe and obey, lest-"

An ominous aura entered the room.

"Kukukukuku... have you finally developed an interest in the mystical and macabre, Tamaki?"

A shrouded figure peeked through the door, an odd puppet on his hand. Tamaki let out a small shriek and darted away, while Kyoya pushed up his glasses and withheld a sigh.

"Nekozawa. How can we help you?" Kyoya greeted.

"It's not how you can help me, but how _I_ can help _you_..." Nekozawa let out a dark laugh. "The Black Magic Club would be _very _glad to sponsor your introduction into the mysterious realms of magic. We will give each of you a curse doll, and-" He cut himself off abruptly.

"Who," he demanded, his mysterious airs suddenly gone, "is that?"

He pointed across the room. Kyoya turned to see Kagome emerging from the changing room, smoothing her Host Club uniform into place. Before Kyoya could say anything, Kagome came marching over, a dark expression on her face.

"Kyoya-senpai," she began, her tone cold, "who is this?"

Kyoya internally sighed.

"Nekozawa, may I present 1-A's Kagome Higurashi, first hostess and latest member of the Host Club? Higurashi, this is Umehito Nekozawa, president of the Black Magic Club."

The glare between them was electric. Nobody moved or said anything.

"The Black Magic Club?" Kagome said, raising an eyebrow. She folded her arms, glaring.

"The Black Magic Club has a deep, dark history of plumbing the depths of darkness and magic," Nekozawa said. His mysterious voice tone was back, but he looked angry. "Why?" he sneered. "Are you interested in joining?"

"Of course not," Kagome scoffed.

They glared at each other for a tense moment, deep blue eyes clashing with pale blue.

"Are all the Black Magic Club members like you?" Kagome suddenly demanded.

Nekozawa looked shocked. "What? No!" His face suddenly changed to eager, excited. "You mean, there are more like me?"

"You didn't _know?_" Kagome gasped, her eyes wide. She paused. "Wait. How is that even _possible?_"

"I know very, very little. My parents and my sister are completely normal. Only I manifested such a trait," Nekozawa told her. "There are rumors of it being passed down in my family for generations, but it's always been viewed as a fairy tale of sorts."

"A dormant trait?" Kagome asked, considering. "I've never heard of such a thing. But that doesn't mean it's not possible."

"But there _are _more like me?"

"Yes." Kagome made a face. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"Don't think that," Nekozawa said immediately. "_Please _don't think that. I've been- I've been looking for answers as long as I can remember." His voice seemed almost pleading to Kyoya. "Please... if you can help me..."

She looked thoughtful for a long moment, before whirling around to give Nekozawa a hard look.

"What do you _do_ in the Black Magic Club?" she demanded.

"Read Tarot cards, make curse dolls, research magic, cast curses, and lurk around in the dark," Nekozawa said promptly.

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "'Curses'?"

To Kyoya's astonishment, Nekozawa flushed.

"Well, 'curses', you know," he said, embarrassed. "Writing names on curse dolls, tying strings together, burning candles..."

Kagome started to laugh.

"Curses indeed," she mused. She gave Nekozawa an evaluating look. "I'll look into this dormant trait business for you," she said. "Maybe you'll get some answers then."

Nekozawa looked incredulous.

"You – you're really going to help me?" He sounded shocked. _"Really?"_

Kagome looked amused. "Why not?"

"Because you're – you're-" Nekozawa looked stunned, then reverent. "You're-"

"-a kind person that's helped out a few people like you before." Kagome smiled at him, and Nekozawa looked dazed. "If you don't have a problem with me, I certainly don't have a problem with you."

To Kyoya's astonishment, Nekozawa started to smile – not a creepy leer, as was his custom, but a genuine, full-blown smile.

"Then I am honored." He bowed low, his head nearly touching the ground. "Consider me your most humble servant, my lady."

Kagome stared at him, and Kyoya was alarmed to see her start to blush.

"Kagome!"

They were assaulted by Tamaki's plaintive wail_. _Tamaki rushed over, and Kagome had to quickly step aside to avoid being engulfed in his arms.

"In Nekozawa threatening you?" he asked, shaking. "Not now! Not today! Not when we need to start planning our party!"

Nekozawa smirked.

"Beezelnef just wanted to say hello..." he murmured. "Don't worry... no curses today, Tamaki-kun..."

He vanished through the doorway. Tamaki was shivering, and the twins took to teasing Tamaki about having a weak knees curse.

Kyoya turned to Kagome.

"That was unusual," he commented.

"Mm," Kagome said, folding her arms. She shrugged and went over to entertain her customers.

Kyoya opened his notebook to Nekozawa's page. He had notes about the alleged trait for an affinity for darkness in the Nekozawa family line, but he'd always figured it was an exaggeration, a dramatic excuse for a son far too interested in the macabre. He supposed such a thing _was_ possible – just because he hadn't heard of such a genetic disease didn't mean it didn't exist.

That didn't explain how Nekozawa and Kagome had seemed to recognize each other, not their initial toxic reactions to one another. Nekozawa, he supposed, might have been thrown by the presence of a girl in the Host Club. Perhaps Kagome had been alarmed by Nekozawa's dark cloak and odd manner of dress.

Still... that didn't feel quite accurate. Their reaction had been so immediate, so _visceral..._ it had been like they had instantly sensed and hated one another. Kyoya didn't know quite _what _to think.

He supposed he'd be able to get more information by watching them carefully during any future interactions. Kagome seemed to have some sort of experience with Nekozawa's alleged gene of aversion to light. They would have to meet further to discuss this dormant trait business, and Kyoya suspected they'd probably do it in the Third Music Room on Host Club time.

Moderately satisfied, Kyoya snapped his notebook shut and returned to the others.

Kagome was assembling a large tea set. She looked up and smiled at Kyoya, who paused.

"Kagome," he said. He raised an eyebrow. "Preparing your own tea today?"

"I'm mad at them all today," Kagome told him, her eyes dancing. "They'll drive themselves mad trying to figure out _why_ I'm mad and trying to atone for it before I'll slowly forgive them all."

"Why _are_ you upset with them?" Kyoya asked.

Kagome wore an impish smile. "Because it'll draw them to me all the more."

A rare genuine grin escaped Kyoya's careful facade, and he watched as Kagome blushed – a lovely sight. She took the tea tray to walk away before pausing.

"Oh, Kyoya-kun," she said, turning back. "I meant to ask you something."

"Oh?" Kyoya said, preparing his own tea set for his customers.

"I was wondering, about Nekozawa-kun..."

"Yes?" he prompted.

"Why's he wear that black cloak?"

There was a pause.

Kyoya knew he was staring at her, but he couldn't stop himself. Kagome looked confused at his incredulity.

"What? What is it?" she asked, flustered. "Have I missed something really obvious?"

"Nekozawa wears the dark robe and wig to shield himself from the light," Kyoya said slowly. "He claims the light burns him."

"Wow, really?" Kagome's eyes widened. "What causes that?"

There was a loud crash, and the rest of the Host Club turned to gawk.

It was, the club agreed, the first time Kyoya had broken anything, let alone an entire tea tray. They gossiped around the perimeter, eyeing Kyoya and Kagome both.

Kyoya just started at Kagome. He didn't _understand. _If Kagome hadn't realized or recognized Nekozawa's light aversion...

Nekozawa's dark cloak and wig were the only readily apparent differences about him. The _only_ ones.

If she hadn't been talking about his light aversion trait...

What _had_ she been talking about?

Kagome flushed under Kyoya's blank, dead stare and scurried off with her tea.

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**Read it? Please, review! Let me know what you think! :)  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: ****And now you get clues! Aren't you excited? Be sure to tell me what you think you figure out from this chapter, and what you think will happen next! And also tell me that this story is awesome. Those reviews are always great to read :)**

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Kagome tentatively knocked on the open door of the study.

"Sesshomaru?" she ventured.

Sesshomaru glanced up from a packet of papers he was reading and signing. His reading glasses were hanging on a chain around his neck, though Sesshomaru was blatantly not using them – he "didn't feel the need to feign pathetic, pretend human frailties when secure in his own home", as he put it. It made Kagome smile faintly to see the glasses hanging there all the same – she knew he loathed wearing them when necessary in public.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, and Kagome entered, smiling a small smile to herself. She knew an eyebrow raise was "yes?"; a curt look was "not now", and a glare was "these papers are annoying me – either go away or rescue me from this horrible work". She'd become much more well-versed in Sesshomaru-ese since moving into the manor, if nothing else.

"Sesshomaru, what determines if a person is a youkai or not?"

Sesshomaru seemed almost amused.

"Some would say parentage. Others would say ancestry. Still others would say blood, while others would say verifiable powers or traits." He regarded her almost affectionately. "Why do you ask, little one?"

Kagome bit her lip.

"A student at Ouran has a slight whisper of youki about him," she said finally. "But he says neither of his parents..."

Sesshomaru's eyes had hardened almost instantaneously, and Kagome sighed to herself.

"There is a youkai at your school?" he demanded.

"I don't _know_," Kagome said. "That's why I was _asking-_"

"Yet you could sense youki?"

"A very eensy-weensy smidgen of it-"

"You are transferring to Lobelia. Immediately." Sesshomaru's face was thunderous. "My men said Ouran was safe. The Shikon cannot be jeopardized-"

"Sesshomaru!" Kagome was livid. "I am _not_ transferring schools _again!_"

Sesshomaru looked incredulous. "You of all people know the threat of allowing a strange youkai who knows of the Shikon to continue-"

"He's _not _a threat!" Kagome stomped her foot, not caring if she seemed childish. "He barely knows about _youkai_! I can assure you, if he tried to assault me, I could vaporize him in two seconds flat!"

Sesshomaru gave her a flat look, and Kagome made a face.

"I know what it's like, to not understand strange things and mysterious powers about one's self," she said plaintively. "I don't want anyone else to have to go through that if they don't have to."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "Even a youkai...?"

Kagome sighed. "I just want to help a classmate, maybe make a new friend." Kagome admitted. "It's not like there's another miko around for me to identify and commiserate with. Why not someone who can sense what I am and has weak youki?"

Kagome knew she sounded miserable by the end of it. She _felt _miserable – meeting Nekozawa and feeling the familiar jolt of youki creeping along her skin had reminded her of just how often she used to feel it, and who she felt it with. She felt horribly homesick, even though she _was_ home, but it was a longing for the home she'd made in an odd place with a rag-tag bunch of adventurers, a long, long time ago.

Sesshomaru stood.

"You are surrounded by those who understand, Kagome, by those who remember the beginning, and are still around to see the end," he murmured. He moved closer to her, looking down into her eyes, and Kagome shivered slightly. "You have us all. You have the wolves, you have the fox..."

His eyes were a liquid amber.

"...and you have me, Kagome."

An entire conversation was held in the blink of an eye in their gaze, amber eyes communicating silently with blue ones, blue eyes speaking wordlessly back.

Kagome broke the gaze first, looking down and away.

"I know I have you," she said quietly. "But... it might be nice to have someone my age, too."

"Hnn."

Sesshomaru tilted Kagome's head up, elegant fingers and claws guiding her chin, his eyes locking with his once more. His bare fingertips trailed over her skin, and Kagome shivered as his desire washed over her, a deep caring and longing sensation roiling underneath. He held her eyes, molten amber holding deep blue, knowing she could feel his wants and desires with his hand upon her. He _wanted_ her to know what he felt, Kagome could tell – wanted her to know exactly how he felt, exactly what he wanted – and touch, for Sesshomaru, was often much easier and more elegant than mere words.

When he finally pulled away, Kagome was shivering, her knees weak. She sank down onto the sofa in a daze.

"I have heard of such youkai," Sesshomaru said abruptly.

Kagome turned to him, trying to refocus her mind. "You have?"

Sesshomaru turned away. "Some powerful youkai, when they mate with a human, can send some of their traits into their seed, to then lie dormant in their blood. Then, should the resulting hanyou mate with a human, then that offspring lie with another human, so on and so on, some of their power may awaken at a far off future time in a descendant with sufficient potential and power."

Kagome was fascinated. "What happens with the descendant?"

"Some youkai ability manifests. Most frequently, the ability to sense other youkai and miko energy." Sesshomaru examined his fingernails. "Possibly one additional youkai ability from their ancestor, and maybe a slightly longer lifespan that others."

"Is it possible to awaken dormant abilities?"

"Perhaps." Sesshomaru's eyes glowed. "Is there anything else?"

Kagome knew a dismissal when she heard one. "Not right now."

"Your debut is fast approaching," Sesshomaru commented. "Make sure you are ready, Kagome."

Kagome groaned.

"Don't worry," she sighed, her mind returning to fret over the coming gala. "I will be."

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**Read it? Review! Love it or hate it? Let me know either way! Reviews only take a moment, and they mean the world to the author :)  
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	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Oh, my dear readers, it was too funny seeing how you reacted to Sesshomaru's arrival! I loved your reviews - many made me laugh out loud! Thank you so much for your continued readership and each review you send. I dearly appreciate them all :)**

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Kyoya frowned. "Are you sure?"

Dr. Shitsure nodded. "I'm positive, Ootori-san. Kagome Higurashi came in a few weeks ago with a broken arm, accompanied by her mother and brother. I set the bone myself."

Kyoya repressed a groan. Nothing was making sense.

"We probably still have the video, if you want," Shitsura added.

Kyoya's glasses flashed. "Video?"

"Most procedures are recorded, now," Shitsura said, nodding. "It cuts down on malpractice suits and costs."

Kyoya's lip curled. "Might I see Higurashi's video?"

The doctor led Kyoya through the hospital to a small room with a _lot _of servers and many monitors.

"We code them all by doctor, then day, then patient," Shitsura told him, clicking around on the monitor. "Ah, yes. Here we go."

Kyoya watched in poorly-masked astonishment as Kagome sat on the patient's table, clearly sulking while a younger boy and middle-aged woman watched on with folded arms as Kagome's arm was put in a cast.

"Her family looks... displeased," Kyoya commented.

"They were," Shitsura told him. "There's no audio on our tapes, but her family, especially her brother, seemed very annoyed with her. They seemed to think she would run off the second they weren't looking and break her _other_ arm as well. To hear her brother tell it, she'd fallen down the well where she broke her arm on _purpose_."

"How odd," Kyoya murmured.

The video continued. Kagome looked tense the entire time her arm was being splinted, flinching each time the doctor's fingers brushed her skin. Just as her arm was done being splinted, the door opened, and a tall male entered the room.

"Who's that?" Kyoya asked. "Her father?"

"I don't think she has a father," the doctor said. "Anyway, they said he was her guardian."

"Her _guardian?_" Kyoya pushed his glasses up and paid strict attention.

The man had long white hair, from what Kyoya could see, but the video was from a bad angle to be able to tell just how long. He had graceful features, a designer suit, and a face Kyoya didn't recognize.

When the strange man entered the room, he went directly to Kagome. He tilted her chin up to look at her for a long moment, and then Kagome seemed to let out a wail and throw herself at him.

The man caught her in his arms and stroked her hair as she cried against his chest. He looked to her family and said something, and her family nodded, looking sad but understanding. The man then picked her up – actually _bodily _picked Kagome up _bridal style_ – and carried her out the door, her family trailing after.

Kyoya was astonished.

He'd _never_ seen Kagome touch someone or endure someone's touch – let alone _initiate_ physical contact. To see her sob so helplessly against someone's chest...

Kyoya's heart tightened.

He didn't want to see her so upset like that. It bothered him deeply, on a wordless, primal level. He wanted to destroy whatever had made her so upset so it would never happen again.

Part of him wondered if she got that upset now, if she'd feel safe enough to cry into _his_ chest like that... to let _him_ comfort her and offer to destroy her enemies, or whatever else needed done...

"That's the end of the video," Shitsura said, clicking out of the video player. "Is there anything else I can help you with, Ootori-san?"

"One thing." Kyoya pushed his glasses up. "Have you ever heard of a clean ulnar break healing within two weeks?"

Dr. Shitsura stared at him incredulously, his polite and helpful manner forgotten.

"That's impossible," he said flatly. "That's _impossible_." He stopped, hesitating, and his eyes looked back to Kyoya's, a hint of fear within them. "You don't mean... Higuarshi...?"

Kyoya gave the doctor a cold smile.

"Thank you for all your help, Shitsura-sensei," he told him as he left. "Have a good day."

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**Read it? Review! Let me know what you think on your way out :)  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Many thanks for your reviews! I love hearing that you're enjoying the story :) And I love reading what you think will happen next!**

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Kagome was just finishing putting on her uniform when she heard a collective gasp from all the girls waiting for their hosts in the third music room. It wasn't a gasp of fear, but more of sudden, breathtaking excitement, and Kagome peeked her head out, curious.

A tall, rough-looking boy with vivid red hair was standing there, his face red. Kagome had never seen him before – she doubted he was there to designate her, but _something _was definitely about to happen, given the sudden change of the aura in the room.

He was speaking to Kyoya as quietly as possible, but there was a mad shriek of glee from the girls around the room, and the boy blushed harder.

Curious, Kagome went over and joined Kyoya and his guest.

"As I was saying," Kyoya continued, "Fujioka has an opening right now. If you'd just wait a moment for him to come out of the changing room-"

"Changing room?" the boy repeated. His eyes bulged. "Y-y-you're not doing cosplay today, are you?"

Kagome laughed, and the boy turned to look at her.

"We're not," she assured him. She did a small curtsey, spreading the pleats of her skirt to show her outfit. "We have Host Club uniforms now. Haruhi's just changing into it."

The boy relaxed some, before his eyes darted to Kyoya.

"Wait wait wait," he said. "This is-" he looked at her, "you are-" back to Kyoya, "this is-"

Kyoya pinched the bridge of his nose tightly, and Kagome wondered if he was repressing a sigh.

"Casanoda-kun, this is the latest member of the host club and our first hostess, 1-A's Kagome Higurashi. Higurashi, may I present 1-D's Ritsu Casanoda?"

The boy scowled at her, making a truly frightening face, but Kagome ignored it.

"Pleased to meet you," she said warmly. "You're almost part of our Host Club family, aren't you?" she said. She lowered her voice. "Knowing about Haruhi and all."

Casanoda's eyes bulged. "Y-y-you know too?"

Kagome grinned. "It was how I got into the club," she told him. "I think Kyoya-senpai's pleased enough with my designations now, though, that he might forgive the initial blackmail."

Though she hadn't thought it possible, Casanoda's eyes went even wider, like giant white plates.

"You blackmailed _Ootori?_"

"Now Higurashi," Kyoya said chidingly, but Kagome could see his amusement glittering in his eyes. "I was under the impression that we came to a mutually-agreeable compromise regarding that affair. If it was blackmail, I will have to take steps against you."

"My mistake, Kyoya-senpai," Kagome said sweetly, her eyes dancing. "I must be misremembering. It was, after all, so very long ago."

"Very long ago," Kyoya agreed, smirking. "Very nearly an entire three weeks."

Casanoda watched them banter back and forth with disbelief.

"I- I'll go sit with Fujioka now, if that's okay, Ootori?"

Kyoya smiled hospitably. "Very well, Casanoda-kun."

Kagome watched as Casanoda scurried over to Haruhi's area, and there was a flurry of excited whispers around the room from the girls.

"You won't end up hosting today now, most likely," Kyoya told her, his eyes on Casanoda. "The girls will be in a flurry of moe at the perceived boy-boy love spectacle going on, and your own male customers will be repulsed and avoid the club room today."

"How will today be of any profit, then?" Kagome asked. "With only one host entertaining one guest?"

Kyoya looked at her in surprise, a new emotion in his eyes, and he smirked.

"Don't worry about the bottom line," he told her. "I always make sure we come out ahead. On these days, we charge an _ambience_ fee for the customers to 'enjoy the pleasing aura of the host club' without designating a host."

Kagome grinned. "So we have a free day to just watch the spectacle ourselves?"

Kyoya chuckled quietly. "Something like that."

They both watched as Casanoda presented Haruhi with a gift – some sort of small herb garden she could keep and grow on her kitchen window sill. Haruhi thanked him with an honest smile, and Casanoda's blush bloomed. The girls around them all shrieked, but both Casanoda and Haruhi seemed well accustomed to tuning them out.

"Did you mean it?" Kyoya said abruptly.

Kagome looked up at him. "Mean what?" she asked.

"You called us a 'Host Club family'." His eyes turned to hers. "Did you mean it?"

Kagome hesitated.

"Isn't that what Tamaki-senpai's always going on about anyway?" she deflected.

"Perhaps. But you never let him call you 'daughter,' or rough house with your fellow 'siblings' the way the twins and Haruhi do," Kyoya pointed out.

Kagome shrugged. "I can be part of the family and not that closely related," she said. "Maybe I'm a cousin."

"Are you saying that you're not close to us?"

Kagome considered, part of her mind wondering why Kyoya had brought the matter up.

How best to explain...? She loved being part of the Host Club. She was _good _at making people feel special without revealing too much about herself – heavens knew she'd done the same countless times in the Sengoku Jidai – and she liked getting to know everybody. She was starting to make a new place for herself here, though she was still learning new things about them every day. It was easier to live in the Host Club, she thought. It helped balance out the times she still had frequent aches for her old life in the past.

But when she was bantering and flirting with Kyoya back and forth on a daily basis, seeing his silvery gray eyes light up with life... she found she only thought of what her future might hold.

"No, that's not what I mean," she said finally. "It's just – you all have been so close for so long, and I'm still a newcomer in this little world. Haruhi and I are good friends, and I get along with the twins, I adore Honey, Mori's kind to me, Tamaki... well, he's _Tamaki_, and you..."

She trailed off, looking up at him sideways. His eyes were meeting hers, a liquid silver, and she swallowed, hard.

"Let's just say I wouldn't want to be so closely related to you," she said lightly. "We already have one incest act in the club, don't we?"

She skipped away before she could see Kyoya react, going over to lurk in the shadows with the twins, who looked like they were making snide remarks regarding Casanoda with Haruhi. She joined them and crouched behind a pillar (but still obviously conspicuous) before she chanced a glance at Kyoya from across the room.

Kyoya was still there, standing very still. She appeared to have stunned him.

_Well_, Kagome thought. _That's either a good thing or a bad thing. Let's call it a draw for now, shall we?_

Kagome turned back to watch the scene with Haruhi and her guest unfold, though she had a hard time pushing her conversation with Kyoya from her mind.

She felt ill with her own bravery.

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**Read it? Please, review! 160 of you have this story on alert. Can you imagine how awesome it'd be if every one of you reviewed? :D! Please, let me know what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Attention readers! Without spoiling anything or saying how or why, please be aware: a coming chapter will cause the rating of this story to be raised to 'M'. Please change your fic-finding settings if necessary so you don't miss out on updates!**

**...you will go nuts over it when you read it, I suspect. Muhuhahahaha... :D**

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"I'm sorry, but I don't know," the girl in front of him said, blushing bright red. "All I know is her guardian came and took her out of school. I don't know why."

Kyoya withheld a sigh.

"Thank you," he told her, offering her charming smile. "I appreciate you telling me what you know anyway."

He turned and walked off, the sun beating down on him as he waited for Tachibana to return from intimidating the school's records-keeper.

It had been an impulse to try to find out more information about Kagome from her old middle school, though a good one – he'd gotten a wealth of information on Haruhi via the same method. Kagome, though, seemed to have just vanished from her school without letting anyone know where she was going right at the end of her first high school term. Her classmates heard she was moving and going to a high school out of the area, and some of the knew she seemed to have acquired a mysterious guardian that would be paying her tuition at her new private high school. No one knew who the guardian was, though, or how Kagome had acquired him so suddenly.

What everyone _did_ seem to know, though, was that Kagome was sick. Nearly constantly, from the way they told it. He'd had girls tell him that she'd had rubella, she'd caught polio, she'd broken her entire rib cage, that she'd had triple bipass surgery, that she'd had several strokes and aneurysms...

It had taken all of Kyoya's training not to scoff and laugh in their faces.

_Polio?_

Really.

Kagome had him spinning in circles, it felt like. Maybe she _did_ have polio – and just got magically better all of the sudden? It's make about as much sense as her miraculously-healing broken arm. Or her issue with being touched – what was _with_ her issue with being touched? Why was it such a big deal? She wasn't a germophobe, so why was she so averse to physical contact, save that of her guardian? None of it made any sense! Frustrated, Kyoya tried to push it out of his mind.

Unbidden, his mind pulled up Kagome's smiling face, her grinning at him yesterday when bantering with him in front of Casanoda, her eyes sparkling and and full of life, and he groaned.

It was as if he couldn't stop _thinking_ about her. Thinking about that one, special comment she'd made before she'd skipped off to go spy with the twins, leaving him to flouder about like an idiot with no idea how to respond.

Flirting, he could do. General witty banter with flirtatious undertones, Kyoya was pretty sure he could handle. But an implication like that? That was nearly her outright saying she was interested in him – nearly, but not quite. It was entirely possible that Kyoya was over-analyzing and she just mean it as a platonic, haha-we-have-such-fun-witty-banter-it's-almost-an-act kind of way.

Kyoya wondered if _now_ he was over-analyzing. It was aggravating how lost he felt by the entire matter.

In the past, his classmates had indicated their interest to him very forthrightly, and thus he'd been able to deal with their feelings with decisive certainty – there would be a timid confession of love, and then a soft but sorry letting down of the girl's feelings. There would be a lavish Valentine's Day gift, but no returned gift come White Day. There would be an anonymous love note inviting him to an interlude, and he'd not go to the date. This new, direct flirting was very new to him – it felt terribly adult, and he wondered where Kagome had picked it up. It made her seem more mature, far more so than the rest of his classmates.

He'd have to flirt back, then – in the same, direct way, that seemed to definitely state interest but still only implied it.

Kyoya smiled to himself. It would be a new skill, this new form of flirting. He'd enjoy the challenge.

As Kyoya walked along, not looking where he was going, a small boy suddenly crashed into him, his books falling to the ground.

"Whoa, sorry sir!" the boy said. "Sorry!"

He bent to pick up his books, and with a sigh, Kyoya knelt as well. It couldn't hurt to ask him his set of questions as well, even if he was a child.

"It's okay," he said gently. "No harm done. Are you okay?"

The boy scoffed. "I'm a soccer player," he informed him. "It takes more than that to hurt me."

"Good." Kyoya offered the boy a smile. "I'd hate if you got blood all over my pants."

The boy laughed.

"I'm Kyoya Ootori," Kyoya said, introducing himself.

The boy gasped.

"You- you're from Ouran!" he said. "From sis's Host Club!"

Kyoya sucked in his breath sharply.

"You're Sota-kun?" he asked.

The boy beamed.

"I'm Sota Higurashi," he said, grinning. "You're sis's senpai, right?"

"That I am," he confirmed, nodding. Then, carefully, "I thought you didn't see your sister much anymore?"

Sota crossed his arms, frowning.

"I see her plenty," he objected. "I go and visit her all the time. She's just not allowed to visit the shrine without-"

He clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide, but Kyoya pretended he didn't catch his slip.

"That's good," he said, giving him a smile. "She must miss you a lot."

Sota sighed.

"I think she was very lonely, at first," he admitted. "All penned up alone in that big house. I think she's gotten better, though." He looked up at him, offering Kyoya a shy grin. "I think she really likes being in your club, Ootori-senpai."

Kyoya was startled, but gave Sota a smile.

"It's not my club," he told Sota. "I'm only the vice-president. Tamaki Suoh is the president."

"Really?" Sota frowned. "Because you're the one sis talks about all the time."

It was good timing that Tachibana returned just then, allowing Kyoya a graceful escape to stand back up while Sota ran off to practice. Being crouched down and returning to standing was a perfectly acceptable excuse for his face to be red, in his book, even it meant his the blood was flowing backwards.

Kyoya gave Tachibana a sharp look, waiting for his cheeks to fade, and to his credit, Tachibana didn't say a word.

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**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment, and it means the world to me! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: For those of you who enjoy the witty banter...**

**Again - the next chapter of the story will cause the story's rating to be raised to 'M'. Please be aware of this change! - and feel free to guess what the change will consist of in your reviews :P**

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"I hear you met my brother."

Kyoya glanced over at her, and Kagome kept her face pleasantly neutral as they skinned carrots over the sink. It was "commoner's cooking day," as decreed by Tamaki, and she and Kyoya had taken over skinning the vegetables. Kagome hadn't trusted any of the others (save Haruhi, who was dealing with the actual cooking) with the sharp peelers.

She'd been surprised when Sota had come over and told her he'd met her school mate. She'd still been annoyed with him for letting it slip to Hojo where she was and how to find her when he'd come to look for her at the shrine, but she'd quickly forgiven her brother in exchange for a play-by-play of what, exactly, his conversation with Kyoya consisted of, though Sota couldn't remember all of it as exactly as she'd hoped.

Kyoya seemed amused, glancing over at her while peeling the potatoes.

"So I did," Kyoya said, offering her a smirk. "A very delightful boy, your brother."

Kagome couldn't control her scoff. "Delightful? Sota? Are you sure you met the right boy?"

Kyoya laughed, and Kagome smiled, pleased she had managed to make him laugh.

"Though, to hear Sota tell it," she said slyly, "you were snooping around my school."

"Vicious lies," Kyoya said idly, scraping sharply at a potato. "Why ever would I be snooping around a public middle school? My car just happened to break down in the area, and I was taking advantage of the sun while I waited."

"I haven't the foggiest, but I'm sure it wouldn't have anything to do with you interrogating seven of my classmates about my guardian."

Kyoya turned to look at her fully. He pushed his glasses up, inspecting her, and Kagome did her best not to squirm.

"Now how," he said, examining her, "if, hypothetically, I did such a thing, how would you ever know such a thing had occurred?"

Kagome was determined to keep her air light and unconcerned.

"Well, if I had a mysterious guardian who took his secrecy very seriously and did not want anyone to know who he was until he deemed it appropriate," she said, continuing to peel carrots, "to help accomplish that, I would probably put various safeguards in place to ensure that should anyone come looking, I would know about it immediately."

It was a bluff – a huge bluff. When Sota had visited and said he'd met Kyoya, Kagome had instantly called Ayumi, who always had the gossip. Kagome had called up her dear friend for a chat, and Ayumi was only too happy to babble about her day, and how she'd seen an incredibly attractive boy on campus and watched him from behind a tree for nearly an hour until his body guard had returned to collect him and take him away. And Ayumi (obsessive that she was) had documented each and every one of girls Kyoya had spoken to in her Love*Notebook, and was only too happy to share each miniscule piece of information she had with Kagome.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, obviously impressed. "As would I."

"But," Kagome continued. A smirk began to tease around on her own face. "I would never leave any trace behind, of course, ensuring any such venture would be unfruitful."

A flash of annoyance passed on Kyoya's face, and Kagome felt a rush of relief.

"So you would," he murmured. "So you would."

Kagome continued peeling carrots, but Kyoya had stopped with his potatoes, instead choosing to look at her sideways, an enigmatic smile growing on his face. Kagome felt her heart start to race, but she was determined not to feel flustered.

"Not entirely fruitless, perhaps," he said, that odd smirk playing around his lips.

"Oh?"

"Your brother mentioned you often speak to him about the Host Club," he murmured, his eyes meeting hers. His smirk widened. "And about whom you speak most often."

He left her there with the vegetables, going over to loudly decry Tamaki's inane idea that required physical _labor_. Kagome put her hands to her cheeks, feeling the heat of their redness under her palms.

She groaned. Not get flustered when Kyoya was almost _flirting_ with her?

Like _that_ would ever happen.

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**Edit: To clarify... in this fic, Kagome's middle school has a high school associated with it. Think one campus, with different buildings for grades K-6, 7-9, 10-12. That's how Ayumi came to see Kyoya though she's graduated middle school. Hope that clears up any confusion! :) **

**Read it? Please, review! Let me know what you think, and what you think is coming! I adore and appreciate every review I receive! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: With this chapter, the story's rating is changed to 'M'. Please leave if you need to. But if you're still here... **

**Are you ready...? ;)**

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The basketball team was having a big match after school, so there weren't many customers in the Host Club, making the room feel rather large and empty. The customers that had come, however, were ecstatic to have the rare opportunity for "alone time" with their favorite hosts, so Kyoya had scheduled them accordingly, with plans to work on the Halloween party afterward.

Kagome was listening to Kamenashi enthusiastically explain his upcoming Koh play while they played Go, at Kamenashi's request. He was even wearing his traditional clothing costume, which he'd wanted her to see. Kagome had complimented him on how handsome he looked in it, and she'd struggled to hold back her laughter as he turned bright red and thanked her in a sputtering, stammering manner.

Kagome nodded at strategic points throughout his recap of his play's plot, her mind wandering. She wasn't even paying attention to the Go game – Kamenashi's play was decidedly amateurish, and she'd played her grandfather nearly every night as a child, who'd harbored crazed hopes of her becoming an insei.

It was a good thing, too. She was thoroughly distracted by the haori her classmate wore.

It was red.

It was a costuming polyester, and it was certainly no robe of the fire rat, but it didn't need to be to hold Kagome's gaze, to put her back in time to where she desperately wanted to be, not penned up in this stupid school learning trigonometry, entertaining some boy who had too much free time on his hands.

Sesshomaru had refused to tell her what had happened to his brother, all those years ago, after she'd been yanked back through the well, unable to stop herself or ever return. She'd gotten to hear stories of Sango and Miroku, who'd gotten married and had a full, happy life with their new family, and Shippo had even told her of some of his adventures between then and now, while he was out earning new tails.

No one, however, spoke of InuYasha.

Ever.

Kagome put another of her stones down, glancing up at the red haori again. Her opponent flushed brightly, clacking another stone down clumsily, putting it down in a strategically awful point.

_Poor Kamenashi_, she thought, sparing him a thought. _He probably thinks I'm looking at his body._

Kagome couldn't stop looking, though, pretending her go partner had long, white hair, with soft fuzzy ears perched atop his head during the rest of the time they played.

When the clock had chimed, marking the end of the Host Club's hours, and the go game was over (235-121, in favor of Kagome), she looked up at Kamenashi from underneath.

"This was nice," she said, showing him a strategic vulnerable side. "I hope the others don't show up again someday."

She treated him to a soft smile, and Kamenashi looked starstruck.

"I... Higurashi... I..."

Kagome watched, seeing him mentally gear himself up. She wondered if he would manage the courage to ask her out or if he'd falter at the end. Either way, she'd be okay – Host Club members weren't allowed to date, Tamaki had told her, so she could turn him down without guilt.

Without warning, Kamenashi suddenly seized one of her hands, holding it earnestly in one of his own, and Kagome's eyes went wide.

"Higurashi, I-"

"No! Let go!" Kagome started to panic. "_Please_, Kamenashi-kun! You don't understand-!"

Kagome pulled desperately at her hand, but his grip was too tight to escape. Already she could feel the Shikon reacting inside of her, tendrils of its power reaching out through her to touch him, worming into his heart. Her own heart raced frantically, and she yanked at her hand again, but his grip was too tight. Helpless, she watched as his expression went slack, an odd, sweaty sheen covering his eyes. He opened his mouth, and Kagome felt herself nearly overcome with dread.

"I want to hurt you," Kamenashi told her, his voice flat. "I want to break your heart then make you long for me, then take you back after you're as obsessed with me as I am with you."

Kagome tried to escape again. She could feel the power of the Shikon reaching out, pulling out his most secrets wants and desires out of the deepest recesses of his heart, yearning for a wish to finally be made.

"I want to cut off all your hair while you sleep," he told her, licking his upper lip where little drops of moisture were beading, "and then wrap it around my dick and masturbate with it. I beat off just imagining it all the time. I was thinking of stealing your Cleopatra wig to do it by proxy. Do you think that'd be a good idea?" He looked at her, his eyes gleaming feverishly. "Do you think Ootori would catch me?"

Kagome could only stare at him in horror.

"I think about breaking into the changing room all the time," he continued. "I want to steal your underwear. I want to sniff them. I want to jerk off to the smell of you."

The Shikon was fully awake now, pulling his desires from him, and Kagome felt weak and ill from the constant drain on her energy, unable to even try to pull away.

"I want to rip your panties off of you while you're hosting," he told her, his voice still flat, his eyes feverish. "I want to sit down next to you while you're wearing that short Host Club skirt and run my hand up your thigh," he continued, "making you shiver, feeling your skin, then just rip your panties off and run, leaving you bare under your skirt, staring after me in horror-"

"Hi-_ya_!"

Honey was suddenly there, karate chopping their hands apart, and Kagome took a great, gulping breath of fresh air as she staggered backwards and collapsed back on the sofa, her legs weak.

"What did you do to Kagome?" Honey's voice was threatening, ominous. "What did you do?

Kagome could see Kamenashi blinking, the odd expression gradually leaving his face. Now he just looked confused.

"I didn't..." he objected. He glanced at Kagome, and his face went pale. "Higurashi... did I hurt you?"

"You hurt my daughter?" Tamaki's expression was thunderous. "You _hurt_ her?"

The twins appeared to threaten him, but Kagome closed her eyes. Her energy was roiling, the Shikon's energy overwhelming her own, making her feel weak. She took a deep breath and centered herself to begin the difficult task of re-balancing the energies.

"Kagome...? Are you okay?"

The voice was low, urgent. Kagome's eyes flickered open to see Kyoya, his face worried, his eyes bearing a deep undercurrent of concern.

Kagome met his eyes but didn't say anything, just met his gaze. She'd never seen Kyoya look so rattled, and she'd never seen him look so concerned.

She'd never heard him call her by her first name, either.

Kyoya's face darkened with worry the longer she looked at him, apparently not liking what he saw.

"I'll get a doctor," he said.

"No," Kagome objected, finding her voice. "I... I'll be fine."

The worry lines around Kyoya's eyes eased a bit, only for a stubborn expression to settle down onto his face.

"You look as pale as a ghost," Kyoya retorted. "Are you even able to stand?"

"Not right now, but I will be," Kagome argued. She hated how weak her voice sounded. "Just give me a bit."

Kyoya ignored her, already withdrawing his phone.

"What did he do to you?" Kyoya said, his phone already dialing and to his ear. "Did he hurt you?"

"He... he didn't do anything." Kagome looked away. "He grabbed my hand. That was all."

Kyoya's eyebrows rose. "He touched you? And it-" He broke off. "Yes. Send the car immediately. Have Tachibana come to the third music room..."

"Are you okay?" Haruhi asked, her eyes wide. "We thought he was just talking to you. We didn't realize anything was wrong until we saw you start to sway."

"I'll be okay," Kagome insisted. "Tell Kyoya not to call anyone."

"It's already done," Kyoya said, snapping his phone closed. "Tachibana will be up to get you momentarily."

"No, _please_," Kagome said immediately. She looked up at Kyoya, pleading. "_Please_ don't make me go to a doctor."

Kyoya hesitated, but remained firm.

"You need to be examined," he told her. "At the very least, you need fluids. You still look deathly pale."

The door to the music room opened, and a large, burly man wearing a black suit, sunglasses, and an earpiece entered. He covered the distance to the sofa in three long strides and looked down at her.

"Kagome Higurashi?" he said gruffly.

Kagome sighed in surrender. "Yes."

The man picked her up, and Kagome was relieved to see he was wearing gloves. He carried her to the door.

"Come back after you've been seen by the doctor," Kyoya called after her. "We still need to work on the Halloween party."

Kagome raised a hand wearily to show she heard him before being carried off.

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**Review...?**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Moments later...**

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As soon the door closed behind Tachibana and Kagome, Kyoya's shoulders set firmly, his eyeglasses glinting as he turned to look at the others.

Everybody was watching him, their expressions tense.

"What," Kyoya breathed, his voice dangerously low, "happened?"

The rest of the Host Club all gulped.

"As far as we can tell-" Hikaru began.

"-all he did was grab her hand," said Kaoru.

"He remembers talking to her-"

"-but has no idea what he said-"

"-and insists he didn't hurt her," they chorused.

Kyoya pushed up his glasses.

"He's locked up in the changing room right now," Kaoru added.

"We didn't want to let him go." Hikaru looked murderous. "Not until you talked to him."

Kyoya pinched the bridge of his nose tightly. It didn't make any sense. Unless he'd said something very obscene to make her feel like she might faint (though Kagome wasn't that type of silly, pathetic, overly-delicate girl his classmates were), there was no reason for Kagome to have such a physical reaction in such a way.

Kyoya's glasses glinted as he pushed up his frames.

"Bring him out."

The twins retrieved Kamenashi, who looked frightened. Kyoya pushed his worry for Kagome to the back of his mind.

"Kamenashi," Kyoya began, folding his arms. "While at the Host Club today, you assaulted a member of the Host Club, requiring her to be taken for medical attention."

"I didn't!" Kamenashi's protests were frantic. "I swear I didn't! All I did was take her hand!"

"And what happened then?" Kyoya's voice had adopted a deadly mocking tone, one that sounded vicious with loathing. He wasn't quite sure where it had come from.

"I- I don't know! I swear!" Kamenashi said hurriedly. "I know I was going to ask her out... and I was talking to her, but for the life of me, I have _no_ idea what I said or what happened! You have to believe me!"

He looked around wildly, eyes darting about for support.

He found none.

"I think that boys who upset girls..." Honey cracked his knuckles, his eyes glinting, "...are _scum_."

Kamenashi cowered.

Kyoya pinched the bridge of his nose tightly.

"Go," Kyoya told him. "Just go. When Kagome returns, if she wants to file a complaint..."

He adjusted his glasses, light glinting off the lenses.

"...I'm sure you'll hear from us again."

Kamenashi scampered, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process. The door echoed behind him.

There was a silence.

"I think he might have wet himself," Kaoru said conversationally, still looking at the door.

"Trust the Shadow King to terrify the piss out of him. Good, by the way," Hikaru added heartily. "Anyone who does something like that to any of us deserves some pain and misery."

Kyoya sighed, allowing himself to relax slightly now that the culprit had been dealt with – though he was loath to admit that it didn't seem like Kamenashi was the culprit of _anything_...

Except touching Kagome.

"Is Kago-chan okay?" Honey asked. "Why did she get hurt?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know." Kyoya hated having to admit it. He fought to keep his voice even. "She kept insisting she'd be okay, but she seemed weak and dangerously pale. I don't know if that's because she's experienced something like this before and knows how she typically recovers, or if she just really didn't want to go to the doctor's office."

"Well, of course she didn't want to go to the doctor's," Haruhi said. "The nurses and doctors will have to touch her to examine her. All this happened because someone touched her – sending her to the doctor's might make everything worse."

They all turned to stare at Haruhi, who blinked.

There was a poignant pause.

Hikaru and Kaoru started to laugh.

"Trust Haruhi to see straight through the situation-" Hikaru said, laughing.

"-and give it to you honestly!" Kaoru finished, laughing too.

Kyoya gave them a dark look and turned to Haruhi.

"Why," he said icily, "didn't you share that information _before_ she was sent to the clinic?"

To his fury, Haruhi shrugged airily.

"At the time, you seemed too distracted to listen to me, Kyoya-senpai," she said. "You were even too distracted to listen to Kagome, and it was her who was hurt."

There was a silence.

"Everything will probably be okay," Honey said, his voice uncertain. "Kago-chan said she'd be all right."

"_Before_ she was sent to see the doctor," Kaoru muttered.

Kyoya's fingernails dug into his palms, his hands clamped in tight fists, and Tamaki gave him a worried look.

"Well!" Tamaki clapped his hands. "Sometimes in the face of trying circumstances, the best thing to do is to hold your head high and carry on." He looked determined. "Kagome would not want us to fall behind in our Halloween party planning, would she?"

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**Read it? Please, review! I appreciate hearing what my readers think! **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Many thanks for all your reviews! I cherish every one :)**

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It was nearly two hours before Kagome returned, and Kyoya could relax once more.

As soon as he'd seen her walk through the door – _walk_, gloriously walk, no longer weak enough to need carried – he'd expelled a tense breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and a sense of profound relief settled down on him. He'd known he was worried about Kagome, but he'd tried to push his worry to the back of his mind, and he hadn't realized how _much_ he was worrying about her. It was a huge reassurance to see that she was okay.

And he felt so _guilty. _It was such a new feeling, really, Kyoya found – he had always done what needed to be done, and never felt any qualms about it – but he'd felt so _guilty_ from Haruhi's words when he realized he might have hurt Kagome farther. It was an awful, cold, clutching sensation that churned in his gut and grabbed at his throat, making him feel nauseated. Kyoya resolved to never do anything else to feel guilty over ever again, it was such a miserable sensation. Or, at least, to not feel guilty ever again over his actions, regardless of what they might be.

Tamaki was in the midst of a heated argument with the twins about the best kind of apples to get for caramel apples, both sides hurling apple slices at the other, Honey laughing along while Haruhi rolled her eyes but smiled. Nearly unnoticed, Kyoya slipped from the table, taking his own personal break from the 'planning' when he saw her to go directly to Kagome, stopping in front of her to examine her.

Kagome was fine – she was fine! Completely _fine!_ – and was walking perfectly, with no apparent weakness or stumbling. She had regained her color, the deathly paleness completely gone. Her breathing seemed normal – no more shallow, halting breaths – and her eyes no longer seemed so deeply troubled – instead, they seemed annoyed.

Actually...

The hard annoyance burning in her eyes seemed to be rather sharply focused on _him_.

Kyoya cleared his throat, uncomfortable.

"Kagome," he said. "It's good to see you looking well. Did the doctor's help?"

Kagome gave him a sharp look.

"_No_," she said flatly. "It did not."

Kyoya felt an awful stab of guilt return to his gut. He didn't apologize, though – he couldn't – he _refused_ to – if Kagome had actually needed to see a doctor and he hadn't sent her because she thought she hadn't needed one, he'd have never forgiven himself, and it would have been his fault she wouldn't have gotten aid.

She hadn't needed his help though, as well-intentioned as it had been, and from the glare in her eye, Kyoya knew she knew it.

Kagome stalked past him toward the changing room, before halting herself. She stood very still for a moment, before turning around and walking back, to Kyoya's puzzlement. She looked up at him and sighed.

"The clinic you had Tachibana take me to..." She trailed off, paused, and sighed again. "Your family runs that clinic, right?" she asked, her eyes meeting his.

Her eyes were dark, hidden emotions and thoughts swirling behind the deep blue. Her face was open to him, long eyelashes lidding her sapphire eyes, and Kyoya found his mouth was suddenly dry.

"It's one of my family's latest clinics," he managed. "Why do you ask?"

Kagome gave him a long, evaluating look, as if debating with herself about something, before breaking her eyes away from his. Kyoya found he could suddenly breathe normally again – he hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath.

"The two receptionists are having a passionate lesbian affair with each other in the office during work hours," she said abruptly. "Install security cameras, if you don't have them – you'll catch them."

Kyoya couldn't hide his shock. "_What?_"

"The doctor I saw, Mitachura, is addicted to oxycodone," she continued, ignoring his interruption. "He abuses them daily after work, and he's considering beginning to take them while he's working as well. Give him a drug test – he'll fail. And..."

She scowled darkly.

"Tell your employees not to touch other people without gloves so much," she said, tossing the parting shot out over her shoulder. "Bad way to spread germs in a doctor's office, ne?"

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**Read? Please, review! It only takes a moment, and it means the world to me :)  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I _adore_ reading your reviews! I laughed out loud at several of them - especially the one that mentioned Sherlock. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I hope you all continue to do so! :)**

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Kagome was right.

Kagome was _right._

Kyoya had _no_ idea how she'd discovered, but the two receptionists _had_ been having an affair on company time – in the middle of the reception area on the floor, no less. His entire family had been horrified at the revelation, though Kyoya had felt smug as he watched the footage. It had taken some major convincing to get his father to check out the security cameras that had been installed into the clinic – the clinic Akito had overseen construction and staffing of from the ground-up, no less – but it had been _well _worth it. He'd never forget the look on Akito's face.

After that, the drug test was easier to manage. Kyoya had implied that a friend he'd sent to the clinic had seen the doctor crush and snort pills in a supply closet, and Mitachura had been pulled from the end of his shift and sent for an immediate drug test, which he'd failed.

Akito was nearly apoplectic, begging his father to believe he had no idea, that he didn't know, while Kyoya's father raged at him, his booming yells echoing in the manor's wide halls.

Now that a potential disaster for the family had been safely averted...

How the _hell_ had Kagome known?

There was no way. There was no _possible_ way for her to know. Unless she'd _seen_ the receptionists on the floor (which she _hadn't_ – Kyoya had checked the tapes), there was no _way_ to know something like that. The same went for the doctor – he'd had oxycodone in his system, but not enough that would indicate he'd taken it during work that day. So _how_ had she known?

Kyoya massaged his temples lightly, feeling a headache building, his father's booming voice still filling the halls.

"Tachibana?"

Tachibana was at his side a moment later. "Yes, Master Kyoya?"

"What happened when you took Kagome to the clinic?"

"Miss Higurashi was most distressed to go to the clinic," Tachibana told him. "She seemed to recover her strength completely on the car ride there, and was insistent that we not take her in. Master Kyoya's command had been to make sure she was seen immediately, so we did so. Miss Higurashi was frustrated and insisted on checking herself in and being seen alone. When she came out, she handed me the doctor's report to prove she'd been seen – the report said that nothing was wrong with her, but that she should rest and try to get more fluids. When she returned, she was also very weak again. I had to steady her and guide her to the car. On the car ride back to school, she seemed to recover her strength, but she was glaring at us all by then, so I did not venture to ask her any questions."

Kyoya nodded to himself.

"Very thorough report," he mused. "Thank you, Tachibana."

Tachibana vanished into the background once more, and Kyoya considered.

Kagome was angry with him, Kyoya knew. He couldn't blame her – he was angry with _himself, _for not thinking things through clearly at the time. His overpowering concern had swamped him, and his mind hadn't been clear. Not only had he failed to notice someone was touching her and protect her, but he'd _sent her off to be touched __again_, effectively making her pain exponentially worse. She'd seemed to be somewhere between seriously annoyed and livid when she'd returned from the doctor's office, and Kyoya didn't know how best to go about gaining her forgiveness.

If he even _could_...

His only hope, really, was that she'd come back – reconsidered, then turned around and approached him, even if only to drop bombs on him about his family's new clinic. The fact that she'd come back to tell him, even when she was so annoyed...

"Master Kyoya?"

A manservant was standing in the doorway. He bowed slightly.

"Master Ootori would like to see you now."

His father?

Kyoya stood at once and followed, the manservant leading the way down the hall.

Kyoya had only been in his father's study once before, when he was made to justify his joining of the Ouran Host Club. The room itself was finely furnished, with rich varnished woods everywhere – the bookshelves, the desk, the floor – and smelled of deep wood, too, though Kyoya suspected the scent was faked. He doubted the smell of wood could escape the expensive varnishes that covered the furniture.

His father sat at his desk, not facing the doorway. A lamp on the desk was on.

"Kyoya."

"Father," Kyoya said, bowing slightly.

His father waved a hand. "Sit."

Kyoya took a seat carefully. He hid his apprehension, focusing on looking as professional as possible.

"I am impressed with you today, Kyoya," his father said finally. He turned to look at him, and Kyoya saw his father's glasses gleam. "If you had not come to your quick deductions based on what your classmate told you, we could have lost the entire clinic from public mistrust. It would shaken investor confidence. Our stock prices could have been jeopardized. Your quick thinking helped us avoid a potential catastrophe, Kyoya. Do you realize that?"

"I was only doing what I thought best for the family," Kyoya demurred.

"You did," his father affirmed. "You certainly did, Kyoya."

His father paused, sitting up and looking at Kyoya directly.

"I'm proud of you, son."

Kyoya took a sharp breath, his eyes widening.

His father... was proud?

Of _him?_

His father went on, detailing the changes to be made to the staffing procedures for all Ootori enterprises and human resources departments, but Kyoya stored the information without actively paying attention. His father's earlier words echoed in his ears.

His father was proud of him.

His father was proud of _him._

His father was _proud_ of him. His father's approval was something he'd sought after for years.

With a backward glance and a few enigmatic statements, Kagome had given Kyoya a gift beyond measure, one he couldn't ever hope to repay.

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**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment, and it means the world to me :) **


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Many thanks for all the excited and encouraging reviews :)**

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The next morning, Haruhi was just finishing her pancakes when there was a knock at the door. Puzzled, she stood and brushed off her pajamas before she went and opened it.

Kagome stood there in jeans, a green shirt, and tennis shoes, looking pained but smiling. Her clothes looked dirty, and she had a large yellow backpack with her.

"Hi Haruhi," she said. "Is it okay if I change for school here?"

Haruhi blinked.

"Of course," she said, stepping back. "Were you doing something this morning before school?"

"Something like that." As Kagome entered the apartment, Haruhi realized Kagome was cradling her right arm.

"Did you get hurt?" she asked.

"A little. I think I might have sprained my elbow."

Kagome toed off her shoes, and Haruhi led her back to her room.

"We can change back here," she said.

Haruhi changed into her own uniform perfunctorily, making sure to smooth it out as much as possible to prevent wrinkling. She put in her contacts, styled her hair, and examined herself in the mirror, before deeming her appearance passable as a boy. She turned to make a comment to Kagome, only reel back and gasp.

"What happened to your arm?!"

"What? Oh." Kagome looked looked down at her arm, which was blooming purple and black bruises all along her forearm. The arm was hanging at a funny angle, and Kagome didn't seem to be able to move it normally. Shrugging, Kagome went back to trying to stuff her injured arm through her uniform's sleeve hole, apparently unfazed. "I told you, I sprained it."

"'Sprained arm' doesn't mean 'shattered elbow,' Kagome," Haruhi said, astonished. "Kagome, your arm is broken."

"No it's not."

"One of the bones is sticking out against your forearm skin!"

"Haruhi, I'm fine." Kagome turned to look at her. "If my arm were broken, would I be able to talk to you like this and act normally?"

Haruhi considered the pain level a broken arm would entail. "Probably not," she conceded.

"Exactly. I will admit, though, that my arm is pretty sore. Will you help me finish getting dressed?" Kagome looked embarrassed at having to ask for help.

It seemed a little bizarre, but Haruhi had never been one to shy away from odd things before. Haruhi ended up holding open Kagome's right sleeve while Kagome used her left arm to shove the defunct right arm through the sleeve and then tug the useless limb out. Haruhi also had to help Kagome put her socks on and brush her hair as well.

It was odd, but Haruhi was almost grateful for the chance to help her friend. Kagome never seemed to need anything, or share anything personal, really. Haruhi had told her all about her life before Ouran, her hopes for the future, even her cross-dressing father, but Kagome had always kept her life out of school clear of conversation. Even if was just the opportunity to brush her hair while Kagome held it at the roots, or stretch Kagome's socks over her feet, careful not to touch her skin, so Kagome could tug them up the rest of the way, it was nice to feel trusted. Kagome had come to _her_ for help, though she could have gone to anyone.

When they'd finished, them both looking Kagome over with a critical eye, Haruhi smiled. Despite the obstacle of the no-touching and her friend's useless arm, they'd done a perfect job.

"Thanks," Kagome said with a sigh. "That was harder than I thought it'd be."

"No problem," Haruhi said with a smile. "Are you walking to school, or will a car come get you?"

Kagome shuddered. "I'll walk with you, if that's okay."

The walk was nice for Haruhi. Kagome had dumped out her yellow backpack before they'd left, and it had been crammed full of instant ramen. She'd offered all the noodles to Haruhi, saying she didn't need them anymore, and Haruhi had taken them happily. This led to a fun discussion as they walked of their favorite ways to prepare instant ramen. Haruhi was a fan of adding nori, chicken, and bean sprouts, while Kagome liked putting in green onions, chopped-up hot dogs, and preparing it with half of the suggested water, which Haruhi had never tried.

It was fun for Haruhi to talk to a friend without having to deal with condescending comments or teasing about her commoner ways. Kagome may be some sort of heiress, but she'd gone to a public school all her life and had been raised in the city in a shrine. Haruhi felt that Kagome had more in common with her than with any other of the hosts, even if she didn't count their mutual gender.

And for Haruhi, it was nice to have a kind, understanding, _female_ friend.

"Kagome?" Haruhi ventured as they neared Ouran. "Are you sure your arm is okay?"

Kagome smiled. "Yep. Look – it's looking better already."

To Haruhi's surprise, it _was_. Kagome's arm looked like it was almost completely straight, though unable to be bent quite yet.

Haruhi blinked, made a mental note, and continued discussing the best way to prepare udon as they reached the school.

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**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment for you, but means the world to me :) **


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Later that day...**

* * *

Kyoya was toting up the day's totals while the others cleaned up after Host Club.

He'd been looking for a moment to talk to Kagome, to pull her aside and apologize, but he hadn't gotten the chance. The Host Club had been extremely busy from the moment classes had ended, and there simply hadn't been any time in which to do so, with everybody scrambling around to accommodate the increased the least, it had been a _very_ profitable day. Boys and girls alike had gotten wind that Kagome had been sent for medical attention, and everyone wanted to come and make sure she was all right.

Kyoya had been surprised at the amount of _girls_ that had come as well, genuinely worried for Kagome. He didn't realize she'd been making friends with club regulars outside of club time. When he realized, watching them all fuss over her, he slowly realized what she must have done, and he couldn't help but marvel at her brilliance and foresight.

Girls could be very possessive, petty creatures, and some were bound to be threatened by a stunning girl around their favorite hosts all the time. If assured that nothing funny was going on within the club, the customers would only fear the worst and assume a cover-up.

An approach from the side, however...

Approaching a classmate during classes, making small talk, giggling as girls did... their customers' guards wouldn't be up at such a time. Befriending them, or at least getting to know them well enough to be considered an acquaintance. He wondered if Kagome had given them some reason to help assure them she wasn't a threat, or if she'd just charmed them as thoroughly as she charmed her own clients.

Either way – she really was quite brilliant, Kyoya reflected, turning to glance at her, a quiet fondness lurking in his eyes.

The door opened, and Kyoya turned just in time to see a blur dart inside.

"Kagome!"

A tall man was at her side a moment later. Kyoya had never seen a person move so fast.

Kagome turned, a sigh in her voice. "What is it, Koga?"

Koga was apparently a body guard, Kyoya guessed, judging from his earpiece and large, muscled form in a black suit. He had long black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, and, oddly enough, wore a pair of Air Jordans. He was the oddest body guard Kyoya had ever seen, and not just from his appearance – he'd never _seen_ a high-class body guard that did not treat the person they were guarding with the utmost respect and deference, and _never_ one that referred to their master by their _first name_. This body guard, however, seemed almost insolent and rude, and Kyoya wondered how he possibly could have been hired.

For example, right now, he was scowling down at Kagome.

"Where have you _been_?" he demanded.

"Here," Kagome said immediately. "You know my club can keep me late sometimes."

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Koga looked angry. "Where were you last night?!"

Tamaki gasped, and the twins looked astonished. Vanishing from one's house was unheard of – a dangerous, risky thing to do. Kyoya pushed his glasses up, mentally taking notes on the scene as it unfolded.

"I went to Haruhi's," Kagome said calmly.

"Of course you did," Koga snarled. "And because I can't exactly verify-"

"This is Haruhi," Kagome said, gesturing to her classmate. "I know you don't trust me, so ask her directly. Or here, I'll help: Haruhi, did I come over to your apartment?"

Kyoya watched as Haruhi blinked a few times.

"Yes," said Haruhi. "We even walked to school together."

Koga looked disgruntled.

"Well, that's... but you _walked...?_" He couldn't seem to find the words he wanted. "You _know _you shouldn't have walked. Why didn't you _tell_ me you wouldn't come home?"

"I did," Kagome said coolly. "I left a message on your phone yesterday."

Swearing, Koga fumbled for his phone. Kyoya stared. He'd never seen a bodyguard so painfully unaware of technology – or himself, for that matter.

Finally, Koga came up with a phone from a hidden pocket. He scowled at the device.

"You know I never listen to this thing," he accused.

"Not my problem," Kagome said promptly.

"Not your _problem-_? You could have been attacked!"

To Kyoya's astonishment, Kagome _scoffed,_ and Koga seemed to take that as a valid response.

"Well, at the very least, you could have kidnapped," he said, folding his arms.

"Oh, get real, Koga!" Kagome snapped. "I'm nobody special here. Nobody knows who I am!"

"That's beside the point!" Koga shot back. "Why didn't you come back to the manor last night anyway?"

"I didn't feel like it," Kagome said, turning away.

Sighing, Koga watched her as he called his voice mail, all the rest of them watching Koga. Koga's eyes seemed to narrow as he listened.

"You sound upset," Koga said. "Here, on your message."

"I _was _upset," Kagome informed him. "A classmate held my hand after classes, and then I was made to visit a doctor, which only made things _worse_."

Kyoya's gut clenched. Koga looked horrified.

"Oh... Kagome..." His voice was worried, and his face betrayed his deep concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine now," Kagome said, her voice tired. "I just needed some time."

"But why didn't you come home?" he asked. "Everyone knows that Sess..."

He trailed off.

It was an interesting thing to watch, Kyoya reflected. Koga's words trailed away as understanding dawned on his face, comprehension slowly filtering into his eyes.

"You tried to go back, didn't you?" he breathed.

Kyoya hadn't the slightest idea what he meant, but could see Kagome stiffen, ever so slightly.

"Don't be ridiculous," Kagome dismissed. "I already told you – I was at Haruhi's-"

"That doesn't mean you spent the night there, though, does it?" Koga cut in, his eyes gleaming. "Only that you stopped by."

Kyoya saw Kagome bite her lip. He wondered how this body guard was able to detect the truth from lies so easily – it'd be an immensely handy skill to have.

"Kagome..." Koga's tone was soft. "Did you try to go back?"

"No."

Kyoya could hear the lie, this time. Not even Kagome looked like she believed her words.

"Oh, Kagome..." Koga sighed. "Why do you do this to yourself?"

Kagome whirled around, and Kyoya could see tears glittering in her eyes. His heart clenched at the sight, and he held himself back from going to her and interrupting. But to see her in _tears_...

"Can you blame me?!" she demanded. "I was never supposed to end up here!"

"Kagome..." His voice sounded heartbroken for her. Koga reached for her, but Kagome recoiled.

"No! Don't touch me!"

"Oh, Kagome..."

"_No." _Kagome stepped backwards again.

"Kagome, I can _help_ you," Koga said, stepping towards her. "You know I can-"

"I _will_ hurt you if you come any closer to me, Koga!" Kagome's voice was shrill. "Don't think that I won't!"

Kyoya was surprised to see Koga stop in his tracks. He couldn't fathom how Kagome hoped to hurt her bodyguard. He doubted she'd gotten any martial arts training while being raised at a shrine, but Koga seemed to take her threat seriously.

"You'd hurt me?" Koga looked bitter. "You'd never hurt _him_..."

"You know _nothing_, Koga!" Kagome's eyes glittered with her furious anger, tear tracks streaking her face. "You have _no_ _idea_ what all he's done for me! How _dare_ you compare yourself to him!"

"Yeah, but-"

"I don't even let me _mother_ touch me anymore!" Kagome's eyes flashed. "Do you think you're more important to me than my _mother_?"

Kagome stood there fuming, her hands on her hips, and Koga looked decidedly sulky.

"Well?" she demanded. "Do you?"

"No," Koga muttered. "But _I've _known you longer."

Kagome's eyes flashed, and Koga's defiance wilted.

"But Kagome, if your club is over now, will you _please_ come home?" Koga asked, his tone subdued. "If I don't get you there by dinner, the whole city will be terrorized until _he _deems you found..."

"Fine." Kagome picked up her uniform dress with a haughty look. "Good-bye, everyone. See you tomorrow."

The rest of the host club watched as Kagome flounced out, clearly still in a bad mood, her bodyguard trailing after. The doors closed them, a loud boom, and everyone looked at one another for a long moment.

"Kago-chan treats her bodyguard very oddly," Honey said finally.

A quiet babble broke out, the twins gossiping and Tamaki proclaiming some inane nonsense about the necessity of honesty with servants.

"What was that about knowing her longer than her mother?" Hikaru said aloud.

Kaoru nodded rapidly "That's not even _possible._"

Tamaki launched into a long, dawn-out explanation of how the body guard must have been speaking metaphorically, from the heart, and grabbed a notepad in which to draw small diagrams.

Kyoya ignored it all and turned to Haruhi.

"Kagome _did_ go to your house?" he asked.

Haruhi nodded. "She showed up this morning." She paused. "I think her arm was broken."

Kyoya raised both eyebrows. "Her _arm_ was broken?"

"It looked like one of the bones was about to poke through the skin," Haruhi explained. "Her arm was bent really unnaturally, too, and the whole arm was bruised. She needed help getting dressed."

"Haruhi~!"

The twins appeared on either side of Haruhi.

"Do you know where Kagome tried to go back to?" Hikaru asked.

"Eh? No."

"But do you have any idea?" Kaoru prompted. "Any female wisdom and insight?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes but considered.

"Probably her old home." Haruhi looked wistful as she spoke. "She probably misses being normal."

"Normal?" Kaoru exclaimed.

"Are you saying we're not normal?" Hikaru demanded.

Haruhi ignored them.

"I do wonder who the person she lets touch her is," she said.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up. "I would venture to say that person would be her mysterious guardian, the one who took her from her family and is now looking after her. It would fit everything that was said."

Haruhi looked thoughtful.

"I wonder who her guardian is to her," she said finally. "If she only got all this heiress stuff dumped on her a little before she started school, how is it she feels she knows him enough to trust him to touch her?"

Haruhi wandered away, finishing cleaning up her tea set, while Kyoya stood there, considering her words.

How _was_ it that Kagome felt safe enough with her mysterious guardian? He'd been so caught up on _who_ the guardian was that he'd never stopped to consider who he was to _her_.

And, if she'd had a broken arm that morning, how had it miraculously healed _again?_

Kyoya felt himself becoming more and more fascinated by Kagome, but he couldn't help himself.

He knew she was probably still mad at him, but he couldn't _stop. _He wanted to know everything about her, everything there was, and to help her, protect her from bad people who would touch her against her will, and take care of her and make her smile and laugh with him, her eyes dancing like stars.

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**Read it? Please review! It only takes a moment, and it means the world to me :)  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hooray! Everyone was excited to see Koga! Though, in my opinion, everyone will be _more_ excited to see what happens in the next chapter :D**

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The next day, the twins were in rare form, thoroughly annoying not only Tamaki but everyone else with their whining after the day's hosting had ended. Kagome seemed completely recovered from her bad mood the previous day, and she refused to discuss the matter of her body guard or the issue with Kamenashi with anyone, making the only topic of conversation the Halloween party – a party Kyoya was less than enthused to be a part of.

"This is boring!" Hikaru complained for the seventh time.

"Can't you just plan the party on your own?" Kaoru wanted to know.

"Now now now," Tamaki chided. "We want to have a grand Halloween celebration! We can't very well accomplish that without everybody's full input! And besides, this is not dull! The planning and subsequent perfect execution of a grand _fête_, a majestic gala – these are activities that make me weep with joy! Oh, to see the rapturous response from our crowd!"

Tamaki was actually weeping at the thought of the happy fangirls, Kyoya noted, rolling his eyes. The twins looked disgusted.

"Borrrrring~" they chorused.

Tamaki's face fell.

"Ne ne, Haruhi, want to go on a date with me?" Hikaru said, throwing a paper airplane across the table at her. "We could go to the commoner's arcade!"

Tamaki was aghast. "You can't go out with my daughter!" he objected.

He was ignored.

"No, thank you," Haruhi deadpanned. "The last time I went out with you, you abandoned me on the streets of Karuizawa."

"That was a mistake!" Hikaru defended. "We'd have more fun this time! Kaoru can come too!"

"What kind of a date is it if your brother is there?"

Kagome looked confused, Kyoya noted. He'd never seen her look so quizzical – it was kind of funny to see.

"Wait wait wait wait wait." Kagome was shaking her head, before turning to the twins. "Hikaru, you went on a date with Haruhi?"

"Yeah." Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "So?"

Kagome turned to Tamaki. "Tono, I thought you said hosts weren't allowed to date!"

"They're _not!" _Tamaki wailed. "My son, dating his sister! Oh, the _shame_ of it all!"

He fled to a dark corner of the room, where he began cultivating mushrooms and sulked.

"To clarify," Kyoya said, pushing his glasses up. "Hosts are strongly discouraged from dating their customers or from publicly dating others."

"The customers don't like it if they think they don't have a chance, ne!" Honey piped up.

"But as for Tamaki's command that we not date each other..."

"We mostly just ignore him," Hikaru said, popping a piece of sample Halloween candy into his mouth. "If I want to take Haruhi out on a date, I will."

"Not without my acceptance, you won't," Haruhi said flatly. "I'd have you charged with kidnapping."

"But..." Kagome look stricken. "We... we _are_ allowed to date?"

Kyoya shrugged. "So long as you keep it private and it's not with a customer, there's not a problem."

"Honey-senpai has a girlfriend," Kaoru chimed in. "A girl down in the Black Magic Club. She never comes to the Host Club, but she was writing curses for a while to ensnare his heart."

"Reiko-chan?" Honey smiled. "We went to the movies last week."

Kagome continued to look stunned, and Kyoya felt a sense of hope flare to life inside him.

"Why do you ask, Kagome?" Kyoya said, turning to her. "Is there someone you want to date?

Kagome's cheeks flamed a bright red, and she ducked her head, unable to meet his eyes. Kyoya's breath caught in his throat, his flare of hope catching kindling aflame.

Twins were upon her in an instant, teasing, trying to wheedle out the name of who she fancied. Kagome shot Kyoya a death glare, but Kyoya couldn't find it in him to care.

She hadn't realized she could date? He wondered what she would do with that knowledge, knowing that she could, now. She was very direct, in a way, with her flirting – maybe she would outright ask her admired on a date.

Maybe she wasn't as upset with him as he'd thought.

Secretly, he hoped she would ask him out. Her invitation would make the first one he'd ever accept.

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**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment for you, but it means the world to me :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Haha, my lovelies, here you go! This chapter will help clear up a few of your questions, I think. Though, if you read between the lines, it may raise a couple more... ;)**

**Also - if somebody else is talented at graphic artistry and would be willing to make me a new story plate instead of the one I have now, I'd really appreciate it! I could trade sneak peaks for chapters in the future, if you'd like :P. If you're interested, please PM me! :)**

* * *

"So I'm... I'm a youkai?"

"_Part_ youkai," Kagome corrected. "A very small part, but you _are_ part youkai, yes."

"I _knew_ it." Nekozawa's eyes held a triumphant gleam. "I _knew _it! It fit with everything – why I could sense power and magic, why I revel in the darkness, why I..."

He trailed off, talking to himself, and Kagome couldn't help but smile in amusement. It was neat to see Nekozawa revel at his new-found identity. When she'd finally run across him in the hallway at school and told him she had information for him, he'd immediately invited her to the Nekozawa mansion after classes and their respective clubs were over. Kagome had accepted – reluctantly allowing Koga to follow along as well. The last time she'd ditched him, it hadn't ended well.

Nekozawa's house was immense and gorgeous, light sparkling everywhere, but Nekozawa's rooms were kept dark, lit only by candlelight. It gave the rooms a mysterious, majestic feel, like something from a fairy tale, and Kagome found that she didn't mind the lack of light as much as she thought she might.

Safe in his room, Nekozawa felt safe enough to take off his dark wig, but he kept his cape on still. It was odd to see him like this – Kagome hadn't expected him to look so striking. His blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and aquiline features, all half-hidden in the shadows...

Something about him was enchanting, and Kagome suspected it wasn't just his heritage that interested her.

Nekozawa's face was rapt as she explained what Sesshomaru had told her about dormant youkai genes and powers. His eyes widened when she said he could possibly unlock a dormant power or two and offered her help. When she finished explaining everything she'd found out, she asked, "Any questions?", and Nekozawa laughed, before taking her up on her offer of more information.

"So you _are_ a miko?" Nekozawa asked her. His pale blue eyes almost seemed to glow. "You are, right?"

"I am," Kagome confirmed. "One of the last, if not _the _last."

"I could feel you, you know," Nekozawa told her. "The moment I walked into the room, I could sense your power."

Kagome laughed. "I could sense _you_ as well, Nekozawa," she teased. "And I knew you could sense me – we didn't exactly hit it off well at the start there, did we?"

Nekozawa looked embarrassed for a moment.

"Well, we're hitting it off well enough now, aren't we?" he said. He raised an eyebrow, a slow grin spreading across his face, and Kagome ducked her head and blushed. Nekozawa laughed quietly, a soft, enchanting laugh.

"Now, tell me again – why do you need these gloves?" he asked her.

"I'm sick of not being able to touch anyone," Kagome repeated. "If I want to touch someone, I have to make sure that I'm not touching them directly – that there's clothing in the way. I want to be able to touch someone more normally without having to worry."

Nekozawa's eyebrows rose very high, and Kagome's face turned beet red.

"Not like that, you letch!" She swatted at his arm, her face burning. "Honestly, Nekozawa! Not like that!"

Nekozawa laughed. "I didn't say anything!" he protested.

"You didn't have to! I could tell what you were thinking, you pervert!"

"Then what _were_ you thinking of?" He grinned. "Being able to slap perverts across the face?"

Kagome laughed. "Of course not! No, nothing so violent. I was actually..."

She trailed off. It was a bit embarrassing to say out loud.

"Actually...?" Nekozawa prompted.

Kagome sighed. "I wanted them in case I went out on a date."

"A _date?_" Nekozawa's eyes widened. "I didn't think Host Club members were _allowed_ to date."

"Neither did I," Kagome said dryly. "As it turns out, I was grievously misinformed..."

Nekozawa chuckled, while Kagome smiled.

"So you wanted them for a date?" Nekozawa asked. "What for?"

"To hold hands." Kagome could feel herself blush. "I couldn't imagine a date without holding hands."

Nekozawa gave her a sideways glance. "Who are you hoping to date?"

"None of your business!" she said hotly.

Nekozawa laughed, low and charming, while Kagome hid her face.

"No need to be embarrassed," he told her. "I'm sure whoever you ask out will be thrilled."

Kagome groaned.

"If I ever _ask _someone out," she said, making a face, and Nekozawa laughed. "I'd much rather _be_ asked out than _ask_ someone out." She sighed. "But we'll see..."

He looked at her sideways. "That can be arranged..." he murmured, his eyes molten.

Kagome flushed bright red, and Nekozawa laughed.

"I'm teasing, I'm teasing," he told her, his smile impish. "I can tell you're hoping for someone else to ask you out. Though, if they don't... I might just take a chance and ask you out myself..."

Kagome flushed and looked away, embarrassed, and Nekozawa chuckled, his quiet laugh enchanting.

Nekozawa continued weaving the spider silk, a small smile on his face. Kagome watched as he did so. He'd agreed on the ride over to help her out – the Nekozawa family was known for the fineness of their silk. Kagome hoped the gloves he made would fit her perfectly, and be so thin it'd be like there was nothing there at all.

She'd like that. If she could touch someone, without needing to worry about what words would come from them when she did so...

"So why can't you touch anyone?" Nekozawa asked, weaving the silk carefully.

Kagome bit her lip. "It's a bit personal."

"More personal than being the last true priestess in Japan?" Nekozawa looked at her sideways. "More personal than being part youkai and not knowing what type or why?"

"It's..." She sighed. "It's complicated."

Nekozawa's eyes gleamed. "Does it have anything to do with why the Lord of the East is following you around as a bodyguard?"

Kagome reacted with shock, sitting up bolt straight in an instant. Nekozawa snickered.

"How do you know that?" she demanded. "_How _do you know that?! There's no way – _how_...?

"My family has tomes," Nekozawa said, dismissive. "Very, very old tomes. Ones that I read many, many times when trying to discover who and what I was. Ones that discussed youkai, their powers, and the realms that lay under their protection back when they roamed freely. Some even had pictures. Your bodyguard is in one of them – him and his pack – and he looks _exactly _the same, as if he hasn't aged a day."

"You can't tell anyone," Kagome told him urgently. "Nekozawa, you _can't_. From what I understand, demons are kept very, very secret in this time. They hide their auras as much as they can and only appear in human form. If they found out you knew, they might _kill _you."

"I won't tell anyone," Nekozawa told her.

"_Promise _me," Kagome stressed. "Promise me, Nekozawa – they _would _kill you."

"Kagome." His eyes held hers, the pale blue haunting in the darkness. "I promise I won't speak a word of it to another." His eyes softened. "Besides, who else would I tell, Kagome?" His voice was a murmur. "I only have you."

Kagome felt her heart skip. She ducked her head, hiding the red of her cheeks.

"Yes, that's why," she admitted, changing the topic back to his previous question. "That's part of why he's my bodyguard. The other part is just the normal heiress stuff."

Nekozawa's face lit with triumph.

"So," he said, his eyes alight. "What, exactly, is this great secret?"

Kagome sighed.

"I can't tell you the secret part," she told him. He looked ready to object, but Kagome held up a hand. "No, really – I can't. It's simply too dangerous. I _can_, however, tell you that when I touch people, they tell me what they want most in the world."

Nekozawa looked quizzical. "What they want most?"

"Among other things," Kagome said, dryly. "My powers reach into them and draw out their most secret wants and desires. It's exhausting for me, and... well, it's _disturbing_, frankly. Most secret wants are never meant to be heard aloud."

"Like what?" Nekozawa asked.

"Like... I caught a screaming child running down the sidewalk to get away from her mother," Kagome told him. "She looked up at me and told me she hated her mommy, that she wanted her mom to burn up until she was all gone."

Nekozawa's eyes were wide.

"No," he breathed.

"She was about five," Kagome said. "I have no doubt that she probably wouldn't want something so terrible as that once she calmed down, but..." She shrugged. "I don't exactly like hearing such things. And it's _exhausting_. The... the part of my power that pulls these secrets out of people conflicts with my own power, and it's exhausting and difficult to stay balanced and centered with this hidden power awakened."

Nekozawa's eyes gleamed. "Maybe you should practice."

Kagome recoiled. _"What?"_

"Practice." Nekozawa's eyes glinted in the dim light. "I already know I need to practice centering myself to reach my demon energy and discover what all I am. Why wouldn't you need to practice centering your energies while touching someone, if you have any hope of gaining control?"

Kagome had never considered the idea.

"But that- that would mean I'd have to _touch_ someone," she said, shuddering. "I- when I touch-"

"Then touch someone you trust," he said. "Someone whose secrets won't shake you."

"Those I trust the most aren't affected normally," she told him. "With full-blooded youkai, I can feel their wants and desires in a wordless kind of way – they're strong enough that they're not compelled to voice them aloud. I don't get as weak with them... I don't think it would help to train like that."

Nekozawa's eyes lit up. "What about me? You could train with me."

"With _you?_" Kagome's mouth fell open. "Nekozawa, I barely _know_ you."

"You know enough about me." Nekozawa shrugged. "You know I live in the dark, I'm fascinated by the mysterious and mystical, and that I want to learn more. I suspect all my deep, dark desires will run along those lines." He paused, his eyes glinting. "Though, you might be included in a few desires as well..."

Kagome flushed, looking away, and Nekozawa laughed.

"But it could help you," Nekozawa said, finishing up her gloves. "I have at least some demon blood, right? That might help me maintain some control over myself, while I'm still human enough that it would help you train. We're already keeping each other's secrets, aren't we? What's a few more to help us both?"

His eyes were earnest, and Kagome was surprised to feel how much he meant his words.

"You- you'd trust me that much?" she said. "Nekozawa, you'd spill all your deepest secrets to me..."

Nekozawa shrugged airily.

"I told you once before," he said, handing her the finished spider-silk gloves. "I'm at your service, my lady. Whatever you want of me, I would be honored to do."

A brilliant blush bloomed on her cheeks once more. She wasn't sure how or why she'd earned such devotion, but she could tell that he meant it – his aura was sincere and hopeful – and she wasn't about to turn away such a dedicated friend.

"I – I'll think about it," she said finally. "I'll let you know later in the week. Is that okay?"

Nekozawa's eyes lit up once more.

"Of course, m'lady," he murmured. "Of course."

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**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment for you, but it means the world to me :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: So as I was uploading this chapter, I was suddenly struck with the fact that _this is chapter__ twenty-freaking-two__._ That's _insane. _I never write fics this long. Then again, I've never before approached chapter division with the attitude of "Every scene change, new chapter! What the heck!", so I suspect that's how this very high chapter** **number came to be :P**

**Again, if someone is willing to help make a different book plate for the story, I would be very, very appreciative!**

* * *

The hassle of Halloween party planning, in Kyoya's opinion, was _not_ worth whatever the Halloween party would bring. They would turn a profit, of course - Kyoya always managed to figure out a way to do that - but listening to Tamaki and the twins and Honey go on and on about Halloween would make him shy away from even the _best_ business deal, if he had that option.

Instead, he was stuck writing inane ideas in his notebook, plotting out the best course to turn this party from a serious drain on their accounts into an asset.

All the while his classmates were arguing over stupid, _stupid_ things.

"We must have lots of candy!" Honey insisted. "Halloween is all about the candy!"

"Halloween is about _scary!_" Kaoru retorted. "Halloween is about making people terrified that the dead have come back to life!"

Honey looked terrified himself.

"Ne ne Takashi," Honey said, tugging at Mori's sleeve. "The dead can't really come back to life, ne?"

"Nnn," agreed Mori.

Honey stuck out his tongue at Kaoru. "See?"

"Something doesn't need to be real to be scary!" Hikaru insisted. "What about ghosts? And boogey-men?"

Suddenly, he had an incredibly lifelike mask of a demon on, and was laughing malevolently. "Muhuhahahaha!"

"Aah! Takashi!"

Kyoya pinched the bridge of his nose and rolled his eyes. He felt like he was dealing with children.

A piece of candy hit his arm, and Kyoya looked down, caught off guard. The candy was a small boiled sweet - definitely not one of the ones they were planning on purchasing for their guests.

He glanced up, only to see Kagome's eyes sparkling, and he started to smirk.

"We will have bobbing for apples, of course," Tamaki said. "But do we want to do the toilet-paper mummy game? Or is it too... undignified?"

"We have to have mummies, tono!" the twins objected. "We can just use linen scraps instead!"

"Linen scraps?" Kyoya intervened, discreetly flicking the candy back, pinging it off of Kagome's chest. "Yards and yards of fine linen scraps? Where would we get those?"

"We'll get them from our mother!" Hikaru said.

"She'd be happy to help us out!" Kaoru insisted.

"That's your responsibility, then," Kyoya warned them, and the candy came skittering back, bouncing off his arm. Kagome was grinning, and Kyoya had to repress the urge to smile as he flicked it back. The subtle flirting with a commoner's sweet was drastically improving his mood.

"But we need _candy_!" Honey insisted, upset. "Tama-chan, we _need_ lots of candy for the party!"

"Of course we will have lots of candy!" Tamaki declared. "We will have grand sweets! The customers can come to each host to trick or treat!"

"Ne, tono," Hikaru drawled. "What if we trick or treat?"

Tamaki blinked. "_We _trick-or-treat?"

"You are _not_ to harass the customers, Hikaru, Kaoru," Kyoya said, not bothering to look up from writing in his notebook. "Only the girls will be doing the trick-or-treating on Halloween."

Hikaru and Kaoru sulked, and Kyoya flicked the candy back, watching as it bounced off her arm. Kagome dived under the table to retrieve it.

"All this candy," Haruhi marveled, looking over the giant ordering forms. "I've never seen candy as fancy as all this."

"Of course not," Kyoya said. "We must have the best for our party. Commoner's sweets will not suffice."

"If you ask me, sweets at _all_ won't suffice," Kagome said idly, playing with the piece of candy for a moment.

"What?" Honey looked stricken. "No candy?"

"If I were going to an event with very attractive men I fancied, and I wanted a 'treat'," Kagome said, smiling, "I assure you, I wouldn't be thinking _anything _about candy."

Kyoya considered. "That's a fair point," he said slowly.

"No candy?" Honey looked panicked.

"Not 'no candy'," Kyoya said. "It is, after all, still Halloween. But perhaps..."

"Make the candies prizes for Halloween games...?" Kagome suggested. "Charge the customers to play things like bobbing for apples, jack-o-lantern carving, toilet-paper-mummy making..."

"But what about for the trick-or-treating?" Tamaki's voice earnest. "That's the core ritual at the center of Halloween!"

"Ne, tono..." Hikaru said, making a face.

"Trick-or-treating isn't the reason for Halloween," Kaoru said.

Tamaki promptly ignored the twins.

"All our customers will expect trick-or-treating!" he insisted. "If we don't provide them with candy-"

"You're still not thinking like your customers," Kagome said, throwing the piece of candy at Tamaki and beaning him in the head. "Tono, do you really think the girls who come every day just to look at you and hang on your every word are going to be satisfied with random candy they could just buy themselves?"

Tamaki looked struck.

"No..." he breathed. "They wouldn't be. They would want a treat specifically from _me_..."

"Now you're getting it," Kagome said, sighing.

"I could give out signed photos of Annette," Tamaki theorized, considering. "Or play the piano! That would be a treat for everyone! Or I could-"

Kagome let her head drop, thunking it into the table.

"Tono, just kiss your customers on the cheek," she said into the wood. "That's all they'll really want."

"A kiss?" Tamaki turned to look at her. "Kiss them _all? _You think that's all they'll want?"

"Well, _no_, but that's all you could provide and still seem decent." She pushed herself up from the table. One of Kagome's half-amused smiles was playing around her lips. "Just let all the girls trick-or-treat in that fashion, and the party will be a much bigger success, Tono."

"We could make part of it a game," Haruhi added. "If we all wear costumes, we could say they have to know what host they're asking trick-or-treat too if they want to get their treat? Or we could all dress in a theme and let them kiss who they think has the best costume."

Kyoya was writing rapidly.

"I like it," he said. "It's not overly expensive, it'll enrich our customers' experience with the Host Club, and it'll _definitely_ bring them back wanting more."

"Kiss _everyone_, though?" Kaoru wondered.

"Do Kaoru and I kiss them at the same time, one of us on either cheek?" Hikaru asked.

Kyoya shrugged. "Up to you. They're your customers. What would they like best?"

Hikaru and Kaoru glanced at each other.

"Definitely at the same time," they chorused.

"But- but- but-" Honey's lower lip wobbled. "Candy!"

"Mitsukuni." Mori's voice was low. "You can still go trick-or-treating with Chika outside of the party."

Honey's face brightened immediately.

"Okay," he said, smiling. "Can I run the candy apples booth?"

The rest of the party planning went well. The venue had already been secured (the grand salon, after hours on Halloween), and they had given invitations to all their guests over the past week. All that was left, really, was for Kyoya to do everything else by himself (so he could be sure no one else messed it up), and for the hosts to pick their costumes.

An argument broke out over who got to be the devilishly sexy vampire this year while Kyoya finished toting up his notes. He glanced sideways at Kagome. Haruhi and Kagome were quietly discussing what Haruhi could do for a costume, both of the girls smiling as they made a list of their ideas. Kagome was quick and clever, and Haruhi was smart and practical to a fault. He was sure they'd come up with something excellent.

Kagome had been quick to cut through all the trappings right to the heart of the party, something even he hadn't entirely realized. Of course the customers wouldn't be coming for the _party _– they'd be coming for the _hosts._ And her assessment would save the Host Club thousands of dollars in candy, something Kyoya was _very_ grateful for.

Kagome had a keener business sense than he realized. Kyoya had realized she was excellent with dealing with all types of people, just watching her with her customers and her classmates, but her ability to figure out people's core motivations was almost a little unnerving. It was almost as if she had the ability to see straight into people's hearts...

Kyoya's glasses flashed as he wrote in his notebook. Such an ability could be taken far, in the business world. Very, _very_ far.

* * *

After Kyoya was tidying up and as he went to leave, he stopped short to avoid running into Kagome and Honey. They were standing still in the hallway right outside the doorway, Mori watching them silently.

"I want to never grow up," Honey said, his voice oddly serious. "I want to never have to act like an adult all the time. I want to always find joy and happiness in the world. I want to not be overwhelmed with stupid things like finances and income."

Kyoya gave Mori a quizzical look, and Mori only shrugged.

"I want to never have to leave Takashi," Honey continued, "even though I know I'll have to for University. I want to stay with him forever and ever and ever. Whenever someone says that we'll have to be apart, I want to hurt them badly. I want to never leave Takashi, and I want him to never leave me."

Kyoya moved to see Kagome, and Kagome's eyes darted up to his.

Her eyes were wide and desperate, and abruptly, Kyoya realized Honey was holding her hand.

"And _I _want to get home at a decent hour tonight," Kyoya said loudly, walking out of the room and bumping into the two of them deliberately. He watched as Kagome's hand fell from Honey's, and Kagome took in a huge breath of air as it did. Honey blinked several times, looking confused, then turned to smile at Mori, but Kyoya was watching Kagome carefully, who had caught herself on the stair bannister, her legs unsteady.

Honey and Mori called out their good-byes as they left, but Kyoya scarcely heard.

"Are you okay?" he murmured.

Kagome turned to look at him, her blue eyes swirling with emotion.

"Not right now," she admitted. "But I will be."

Kyoya hated how lost he felt. He wanted to call for Tachibana, take her to see a doctor, a _good_ doctor, but he knew it would only make things worse. But to _see_ her like this again...

"I- would you like help to stand?"

"No," Kagome said. Her voice sounded a bit stronger now. "But thank you."

"Can I help you at all?" His voice sounded disgusting – it sounded so _worried,_ so uncharacteristic of him – but Kagome gave him a ghost of a smile.

"You already did," Kagome said. "Making him let go of me." Her eyes were like whirlpools. "_Thank you,_" she said fervently, and her words were so laden with relief and emotion that Kyoya felt taken aback.

"What _was_ that?" he asked, halting. "Why was Honey touching you?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "He dropped his stuffed bunny. I reached down to get it for him at the same time he did, and he caught my hand."

Kyoya fought to keep his voice even. "Why didn't he let go?"

Kagome sighed. "I wish I knew."

Kyoya didn't understand.

"And he decided that it would be a good time to play a 'let's get to know each other' game...?" he asked, uncertain.

Kagome's lips quirked, and Kyoya felt a wave of relief that she was feeling better enough to feel amused.

"Something like that," she quipped, and Kyoya let slip a genuine smile.

"Do you need help down the stairs?" he asked her. "I could... or Tachibana..."

"I'll be okay, thanks," Kagome said, pulling herself to her feet. "It just takes a minute or two to recover."

Kyoya cleared his throat. "Are you sure?"

Kagome turned to look at him. She smiled at him – a dazzling, heartfelt smile, complete with sparkling eyes and a fond softness in her expression, and Kyoya felt his breath catch.

"I'm okay now, Kyoya, thanks to you," she said warmly. "Thank you." She offered him another smile, before turning away. Then, under her breath, a muttering: "But I _do_ need to do something about this blasted touching thing..."

Kyoya watched as Kagome descended the stairs slowly but gracefully, as if she hadn't been weak at all, and met her body guard just outside the school door leading out to the grounds before it closed. He stood very still, his heart beating hard.

_Kyoya_, she'd said.

_Kyoya._

She'd called him _Kyoya_, not _Kyoya-__senpai__._

Kyoya felt his heart warm.

* * *

**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment for you, but means the world to me! :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Once again, dear readers: Mind the 'M' rating.**

* * *

Kagome sat cross-legged across from Nekozawa, who also sat cross-legged, both of them in the flickering light of the candles of his room. Kagome held Nekozawa's right hand in her left, and he held her right in his left. He was looking at her, exposed, not wearing his wig or cloak in the shadows of his room.

"I want to cast a curse on someone," Nekozawa told her, his light blue eyes holding onto hers. "I want to cast a curse, and for just once, I want it to _work_. I want to have that power – I want to have the power to curse people and make them _hurt_."

Kagome focused on her breathing, trying to stay centered. Nekozawa's secrets spilling out were distracting, but nothing so far had thrown her too much. She kept her attention on the roiling energy of the Shikon at her core, trying to overwhelm her own miko energy. So far, she'd been able to keep from being overwhelmed by the Shikon by focusing fiercely on her own powers and balancing and re-balancing the disparate powers constantly. It was exhausting, but as she kept going, it was slowly becoming a little less difficult to try.

"I want to live in the light," Nekozawa said, his voice soft and flat. "I want to go out into the sun and not feel like I'm going to throw up. I want to play with Kirimi on the lawn and not faint. I want to be able to live in the light and be able to choose the dark if I want to, not be forced into the shadows."

Kagome bit her lip and refocused again. It was hard – she wanted to reach out to him in sympathy – but she had to focus. The longer she and Nekozawa stayed touching, the more the Shikon awoke within her, and the more difficult the entire exercise became.

His blue eyes still held hers, completely open and exposed.

"I want to kiss you." Like his other words, these spilled out in a soft, fervent tone, their truth undeniable. "I want to kiss your lips until you're breathless, then slide my hands down your front and toy with you until you moan, then-"

Kagome's eyes grew huge as he spoke, her mouth opening in shock. She couldn't think. Her breath grew short as he spoke, his eyes locked with hers, and she felt dizzy.

"I want to lay you down on my bed, kiss every inch of your body, and-"

There was a bright flash of pink light, and Nekozawa and Kagome went sprawling apart in opposite directions. When they managed to collect themselves and sit back up, they were both panting.

"That was very good," Nekozawa said. He picked up a stopwatch. "Nearly three minutes. Not bad, considering the goal was five."

"I would have made it if you didn't start spilling secrets like _that!_" Kagome said hotly. Her face flamed. "How was I supposed to stay focused?"

"Oh?" Nekozawa looked at her sideways, teasing. "Did it make it difficult?"

Kagome wanted to shove him, but Nekozawa looked like he'd enjoy it. He didn't seem at all off-guard or uneasy by having just told her his heart's deepest desires.

"I can't believe you told me that," Kagome moaned, pressing her fists to her eyes. "Mou..."

"Why not?" Nekozawa's voice was amused. "Surely you've received similar secrets before?"

"Kind of, but not like _that._" Kagome tried to find the words. "Usually it's more... abstract. Or weird and perverted. No one's... that's the first time anyone said anything in language like _that_-"

"You mean erotically?" Nekozawa smirked.

Kagome's face flushed. "I didn't say that!"

"You didn't have to. Your face and shortness of breath did it all for you."

Kagome groaned and ducked her head, hiding behind her hair. Flirting was all well and good, even suggestive flirting, but this-! This was going too far! It was almost as if...

"You!" Kagome sat up abruptly, glaring at Nekozawa. "You did that on purpose!"

"Me?" Nekozawa's tone was innocent. "What did I do?"

"You controlled the language your secrets spilled out in!" Now that she'd said it aloud, she was more sure of it. "So when the secret of-" she stumbled "-of 'I want to have sex with you' wanted to come out, you were able to control yourself enough to say it in different words."

"How could I possibly do such a thing?" Nekozawa protested, but his eyes gleamed.

It only took her a moment for her to put together.

"Your youkai blood!" she accused, triumphant. "That's how you intended to practice, isn't it?"

Nekozawa laughed.

"You've got me," he admitted. "Training with your miko energy alone sounded long and painful. When you mentioned that the full youkai you know have a resistance to this odd power of yours, I thought I'd try to train my own abilities."

"You didn't have to do it like that!" Kagome wrung her hands, her cheeks, which were hot under her hands. "This so embarrassing!"

"Embarrassing?" Nekozawa's eyes narrowed. "Why is it embarrassing?"

"Hearing you tell me all that... I can't..."

"Kagome."

Nekozawa moved to sit in front of her, looking directly into her eyes. His light blue eyes had darkened slightly, and the pupils were dilated.

"I was holding your hand," he murmured. "I was telling you my secrets. I'm not ashamed of wanting you. Why should you be ashamed of being a creature of desire?"

"It's... it's just so weird!" Kagome protested. "Having you tell me what you want to do to me..."

"All the boys who worship you at the Host Club would say similar things to you if they could," Nekozawa told her, holding her gaze. "You try to arouse their desire deliberately, but now you're shy when confronted with such a want?"

"It's not the same..." Kagome tried to explain. "That's... that's more abstract. More playful. More fun. This... This was too... I mean, I... I've never..."

Nekozawa's eyes widened in realization.

"You're a miko," he breathed. "You're a virgin. You're untouched."

Kagome's face flamed, but she held her ground.

"I had to be," Kagome shot back. "I'm a miko. To purify demons, I had to be _pure._"

"Have you ever done _anything?_" Nekozawa wanted to know. "Been pleasured in any way? Caressed? Held? _Kissed?_"

"I've been kissed!" Kagome objected hotly. "I just... just none of the rest. Yet."

Nekozawa was shaking his head.

"I can't believe it," he murmured. "The way you flirt with those boys at the Host Club... I'd have thought you're a master of seduction. And here you are, untouched."

"Flirting is different," Kagome defended. "I can see people's auras and feel what they want. It's not hard to become that and make them want me. I'm _good_ at hosting. It's fun."

"But _still_..." Nekozawa said, his eyes wide. "You've _never_..."

"Oh, shut up," Kagome cut him off, annoyed. "It's not like you have either."

Nekozawa gave her an odd look.

"Yes, I have," he said. "Two years ago for the first time, with a girl from Lobelia. Most recently, with Renge, your Host Club manager. Lots of people at school have done it."

Kagome didn't even know the Host Club had a manager. She stared at him blankly.

"You...?" she said weakly. "With them...?"

"Yes."

"But you..." Her mind seemed to lag. "Were you...?"

"Dating them? For a little while, at least." The information didn't seem to bother Nekozawa. "Does that surprise you?"

"Not the people dating you part," Kagome assured him hastily. "Just the… the sex part. Do people really have sex in high school already?"

"Some do, some don't." Nekozawa shrugged. "We're all physically equipped with an adult's hormones now, after all, and an adult's biological drives with them. So long as you take care of the necessary precautions to avoid any unfortunate outcomes… why would there be a problem?"

"That's… you're…" Kagome trailed off, looking away. When she looked back, her voice was quiet. "You're supposed to save that for someone you love."

"Are you saying that you've never been in love before and wanted to that with them?"

Kagome flinched.

She _had_ wanted to, she'd thought… Miroku had convinced her that it would be a very, very bad idea, and she'd been forced to agree. As much as she'd loved him and wanted to give him everything she could, going that far would have made it near impossible for her to break away from him when she had to – from being thrown back into the well, as it happened, though she'd expected to be forced to watch passively as he was dragged to Hell.

Even then, though, she'd never really thought in specifics. It'd always been a blurry picture, of him kissing her softly and leading her into a hut, then the two of them waking up the next morning in each other's arms. She'd never imagined specifics of it, like Nekozawa was spinning out in his secrets. Though…

As an experiment, Kagome pictured Kyoya, and imagined what it would be like to kiss him.

Immediately, the image of Kyoya kissing her came into her mind – Kyoya would bend down and cup her face, his gray eyes stormy with possessiveness with want, and then he would kiss her. It wouldn't be a soft, polite kiss, but a dominating, possessive one – one that he'd give her to make sure she knew who was kissing her, who was making her feel like this. A wave of emotion and desire surged through her as she pictured it, catching her entirely off guard, and Kagome bit back a whimper.

She'd never felt like that when thinking about InuYasha.

When she refocused, Nekozawa was watching her, his own eyes dilated. Kagome wondered if he could sense what she'd been thinking about. She tried to refocus her mind.

"Have many people… do most people do that sort of thing?" she asked. "In high school?"

"I think probably about half do at some point, before they graduate." Nekozawa shrugged. "That doesn't count the ones who get married still in school with parental consent, of course."

Kagome's mind swam. Get _married_ in high school…? She supposed betrothals and engagements weren't exactly strange to her classmates, but she couldn't help but shudder.

She wanted to ask if Nekozawa had thought Kyoya had done anything like that – if he'd ever had a girlfriend or something of the like – but looking at him, she knew she couldn't. Not with Nekozawa looking at her like that. It'd be too hurtful, too deliberately obtuse.

She'd known someone who was oblivious and uncaring of other's emotions, once. She refused to be like that.

"So you… you did it with them? Before?" Kagome ventured. "How did that happen?"

"They wanted me, for some reason. The cloak and mystery attracted them, I suppose. It was enjoyable, but not earth-shattering." His eyes became hooded. "Not the way I suspect it'd be earth-shattering with you..."

"Don't _talk_ like that!" Kagome flushed. "How am I supposed to be friends with you when you keep telling me things like that?"

A small smile played around Nekozawa's lips.

"The same way you're friends with everyone else," he said. "But just with a background knowledge that if you were ever interested in something more than friendship with me..." His eyes glowed in the candlelight. "...I would treat you like a goddess, and I would take your body to heaven and back as many times in a night as you desired..."

Kagome moaned and covered her face with her hands. Nekozawa laughed, soft and charming.

"I'm at your service, m'lady, for whatever you'll have me for," he told her. "Remember that, and keep it in mind."

From the glittering in his eye and the look he was giving her, Kagome didn't think he'd ever let it _leave _her mind.

"Now, the goal? Do you think we can get to five minutes safely, now that you're more prepared?"

Kagome took a deep breath, pushing all notion of what he had said and what all she was thinking of to the back of her mind, and sighed.

"I suppose we can try," she said, pulling her hands down from her face. She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Ready?"

Nekozawa clicked the stopwatch, and Kagome took his hands in hers once more.

* * *

**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment for you, but means the world to me! **


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N Many thanks to Cherry-Blossom-Love, who provided me with a wonderful new bookplate that I adore! She also writes fab fanfic crossovers - I starting reading her ****_Arachnophobia_**** fic ages ago, long before she started reading mine! Be sure to check her out! :)**

* * *

In an official researching effort to find and decide on the perfect decorations for the Halloween party, Tamaki had declared that on Sunday, they would all go down to the commoner's stores to see what they could find. Haruhi was less than enthused about this (read: adamantly opposed), but she'd been bullied into agreeing after Tamaki looked upset and started to sulk. Kagome had gotten permission from her guardian to come out as well, so all eight of them had piled into Tamaki's limo to go into town – making it quite the adventure. Kyoya hoped everyone would escape unscathed.

After a quick turn about, though, it was determined that the stores in the area had _nothing_. Halloween wasn't exactly the biggest holiday in Japan, after all. Tamaki had been close to panicked, upset tears. Kyoya had suggested importing things from America, but Tamaki had wanted to _shop, _didn't Kyoya _understand?_ In an effort to stave off a sulking fit of misery, Kagome had suggested Harajuku, and the next thing they knew, Tamaki had dragged them all into a train with an excited, happy look on his face, shoving them out at Shibuya, and suddenly, they were in Harajuku.

Kyoya stared.

Harajuku was _insane._

Bright colors and young people swarmed the streets, wearing ridiculous outfits and the Next Big Fashion Trend (or so they hoped), and packs of teenagers scurried around, yelling to each other and dashing about. Kyoya felt decidedly off-kilter. He'd never been in such a crowded place. Anyone could be in the crowd around him – there could be kidnappers anywhere, for instance, and they could grab him before he had a chance to react.

He glanced around for Tachibana, to make sure he was nearby in case of devious disguised business opponents. He was alarmed to see Kagome talking to Tachibana, hidden behind Mori and Honey. Kyoya quickly went over.

"…train?"

Tachibana looked over to Kyoya and immediately looked immensely relieved without changing his expression in the slightest. It was a remarkable trait, that.

"Are you interrogating my security, Kagome?" Kyoya asked, folding his arms. "That sounds suspicious."

Kagome gave him a grin. "Tachibana and I were just discussing where he was trained. I was curious."

"All Ootori guards are trained in Ootori Secret Police Training Facilities," Kyoya told her. "Tachibana is no exception."

"So he said."

Kyoya gave her a look. "Did he?"

"No," Kagome said with a grin. "He didn't. That was how I knew."

There was a pause, before Kyoya smirked. Kagome laughed.

"What an odd thing to be curious about." Kyoya said, raising an eyebrow with a smile. "What makes you wonder about the skills of my guards, Kagome?"

Kagome feigned offense. "Kyoya-senpai, are you calling me odd?"

"Never, my lady," Kyoya gave her an exaggerated courtly bow. "Only mentioning your eccentric tendencies. I think all the best people have slight eccentric tendencies, don't you?"

Kagome laughed.

"You should have stuck with odd," she told him, an impish smile brightening her face. "I'm very odd. Not so much a courtly lady."

Kyoya gave her a look, raising an eyebrow. "You're going to debut eventually though, aren't you?" he asked. "You'll be in formal society then."

"That's not the equivalent of an Elizabethan Court with 'my lady' and 'my lord' everywhere," Kagome said, her eyes sparkling. "I'm worried enough about my debut – don't freak me out over it any more, making me worry there's more protocol to memorize…"

"You're worried about your debut?" Kyoya gave her a sideways look, feeling a flicker of concern. "Why?"

Kagome gave him a look, and Kyoya made a face, acknowledging her point.

"Debuts aren't that bad," he assured her. "There are a lot of introductions, but generally you only run into each person once, so you don't need to remember names if you're careful."

"Oh, great," she said. "All that flash card memorization has been for nothing."

"Flash cards?" Kyoya smirked. "Of all the people who will be attending?"

"No, of my English homework." Kagome rolled her eyes. "_Yes,_ of the people attending. Obviously!"

"When will your debut be?" Kyoya couldn't help the question that spilled from his lips. "Will we be able to meet your guardian then?"

"Oh, soon enough," Kagome said, waving him off and deflecting his question. "All too soon, in my opinion."

She turned toward the others, who were in the midst of a fierce argument of whether to immediately look for a Halloween store, or search every store on the way to a Halloween store for Treasured Finds – the magic of Harajuku, as Tamaki was passionately explaining.

"Have you ever _seen_ such a frenzy?" Kagome said, marveling at the busy streets. "I know it was my idea to come here, but I scarcely know where to begin!"

A good question, actually. With so much going on, they could search all day and never find a thing. Kyoya consulted the Internet.

"There's a pop-up Halloween store five blocks from here," Kyoya said, looking at his cell phone. Louder, he called, "Five blocks straight ahead, Tamaki."

Tamaki beamed and yelled something back. His words were promptly drowned out as a wave of middle school students rushed past. Kyoya waved him off, and he watched as Tamaki, the twins, Haruhi, and Honey and Mori all went off in the direction of the store. Kagome watched them go over the crush of middle schoolers, before turning to Kyoya, a devious glint in her eyes.

"Now that they're gone," she said, grinning. "Want to play a game?"

Kyoya blinked. "A game?"

"Sure," Kagome said, smiling. "It'll be more interesting than shopping, don't you think? I usually only shop online, now, or order directly from a tailor, as it happens – it's a relief, honestly. I don't exactly have the patience for wandering around, trying things on, looking at everything..."

It was a bit of a struggle for Kyoya to stay focused on her words. The full force of her smile was a distraction for him, and she looked very pretty in her casual clothes. He wondered if she'd appreciate the gift of a scarf that matched her outfit. She might like such a surprise…

"We can dilly-dally as long as we can, or flat-out try to escape, if you're up for it," Kagome continued, grinning. "Do you really want to sort through Halloween decorations for however many hours Tamaki's engaged?"

Kyoya imagined it: Tamaki rummaging through bins of rubber bats, plastic skulls, and mysterious ooze, shouting and shoving whatever new 'treasure' he'd found in his face over and over and over, and he couldn't repress a shudder. "You have a point."

"So?" Kagome grinned at him. "Play a game?"

Kyoya felt himself being drawn into her upbeat attitude despite himself, and he gave her a half smile.

"If I am to play this game," Kyoya told her, smirking, "I must be informed of the rules."

"We have to pick a game first," Kagome said, smiling. "We could play 'I Spy,' we could play 'Terrifying Coma,' we could play 'bird, horse, or muffin'..."

Kyoya had heard of none of them. "Bird, horse, or muffin?"

"You sit on a bench," Kagome said, "and then everyone that walks by, you have to classify as either a bird, a horse, or a muffin."

Kyoya stared.

"What are you even _talking_ about?" he asked. "What kind of criteria goes into something like _that?_ People don't-"

"Like him," Kagome interrupted, pointing to someone. "He's a muffin."

Kyoya turned. The man was fairly squat, hurrying across the street in a movement that looked not unlike a duck waddling.

In a weird kind of way, he _did_ kind of remind Kyoya of a muffin.

"I can kind of see it," Kyoya conceded. "But a muffin is easy, because of its shape. But that's not the case with a bird or a horse. How are you supposed to find the others?"

Kagome stood on tiptoe, scanning the crowd.

"There," she said with satisfaction. "The girl going towards the train line with the hat. She's a bird."

Kyoya found the girl. She was fairly thin, wearing a bright _Sugoi!_ kaftan, Marcosé heeled sandals, and carrying a Coach bag. Her hat was _Jorian_, big and floppy and made of straw, and she wore large Chanel sunglasses and her hair in loose brown waves.

"Doesn't she seem like a bird?" Kagome asked.

"Why? Because she's flighty?"

Kagome giggled. "Perhaps. But I thought because it seems she might fly off to the next thing that catches her fancy any minute."

Kyoya considered. She _was_ wearing nearly half a dozen different designers, none of which matched. He could kind of extrapolate that her attention span wasn't the best, and _might_ be comparable to a bird's.

"Okay, but what about a horse?" Kyoya asked. "What are those like?"

Kagome shrugged, giving him a teasing look.

"You find one," she challenged. "Point out a horse."

Her eyes glittered with amusement, and Kyoya found himself straightening his back, his eyes scanning the crowd for a 'horse'.

Harajuku was full of teens littering the streets with their offensive, bright fashions and trends, none of which would last more than a fortnight. He saw many people he would classify as birds – given that 'birds' were the flighty-looking people, but to find a horse…

"There," he said finally, proud. "The woman with the briefcase crossing the street."

Kagome turned to look at the harried business woman, walking quickly despite her heels.

"Why is she a horse?" Kagome asked. She looked up at him, tilting her head with a teasing half-smile, and Kyoya felt his heart skip a beat, as it always did when she looked up at him through her lashes like that. Or when she flirted with him. Or when he looked at her and she looked particularly pretty. Or when she-

He shook his head slightly, clearing his thoughts.

"She looks determined," Kyoya summed up. "She kind of reminds me of a work horse, marching on all day to get its task done, with an invisible plow driver in her head, pushing her on."

Kagome grinned.

"You've got the hang of it," Kagome said, smiling. "Though, I would have said she's a horse because of her legs. Just look at how muscular her calves are!"

Kyoya hadn't noticed her legs. Her calves were extremely muscular, now that Kyoya looked – almost grossly so. Without consciously thinking about it, his eyes flicked down to compare them to Kagome's calves, which were much more shapely and well-defined. He caught himself after a moment, his eyes flickering back to Kagome's face, but Kagome was looking at her phone. She looked up at him after a moment, a half-smile and a sigh on her lips.

"Shall we play while we make our way over to join the others?" she asked. She held up her phone. "I've gotten about ten frantic calls from Haruhi so far needing a rescue."

Kyoya checked his own phone and smirked.

"And I've got nearly twenty from Tamaki, presumably demanding to know where I am." He glanced at the map on his phone, before giving her a half grin. "Sure. Why not?"

Playing her little game of "bird, horse, or muffin" was an odd experience, but unexpectedly amusing. There were so many 'birds' in the streets of Harajuku that Kagome and Kyoya had quickly classified them as worthless. 'Muffins' became worth a point, while 'horses' became worth two. Kyoya ended up scanning the crowd rapidly, eyes searching for people he wouldn't classify as 'birds', feeling a frisson of excitement whenever he found a muffin or a horse.

Kagome played the game with full gusto. She sang out her finds enthusiastically, pointing, blatantly uncaring if they saw her pointing – there was enough excitement on the streets of Harajuku that no one would notice, or they'd think she was pointing to the shop behind them. She was very good at determining what people were more quickly than Kyoya – she'd called out several horses that Kyoya had skipped over, thinking them birds, but upon closer examination, he'd had to agree that they were horses.

Children quickly didn't count either; Kagome had only let him get four before declaring that they were worth nothing – children were pretty much universally 'muffins' for their cuteness (a trait Kyoya could recognize, even if he didn't strictly appreciate it), and Kagome accused Kyoya of trying to artificially inflate his score after he'd found a family of five. That had launched them into a happy argument on the merits of finding loopholes and cheating in fun games for one's benefit to win, while the entire time they called out 'muffin' or 'horse' as they found people they could classify.

Kyoya had found himself enjoying himself much more than he'd thought. Chatting with Kagome as they people-watched, arguing over who was a bird or a muffin, laughing together as they did... Kagome was in a good mood, smiling and laughing frequently, and Kyoya couldn't help but think she was enchanting, the sun in her hair and laughter in her eyes. It was all too soon that they reached the Halloween store, and it was with a sigh that Kyoya pulled open the door to let them in.

The store was swarming with high school students, everyone searching for costumes and decorations for their trendy parties. Kyoya was able to locate his classmates easily – Tamaki was throwing orange and black crepe paper around the store, loudly describing the origin of Halloween colors and their spooky beauty.

"Bird," Kagome hissed at him, and Kyoya started, surprised, startled into chuckling.

"Ne, tono! Cut it out!"

The twins threw rubber plastic skulls at Tamaki to get his attention, laughing uproariously when Tamaki tripped over one and fell into a bucket of toy bats.

"Birds," Kyoya murmured. Kagome hid a giggle.

"Ne ne, Kago-chan! Look at these!"

Honey ran up, his arms full of tiny pumpkins, Mori following after. Honey beamed at her.

"These would be good for the party, ne?" he bubbled. "We can put them all around the room as decorations!"

"Where would we put them?" Kyoya asked, adjusting his glasses. "There won't be many places to put things like centerpieces and sitting decorations."

Honey's face fell, before lighting back up.

"I saw a vampire bunny poster we could get!" Honey exclaimed. "Let me go get it!"

He ran off, mini pumpkins spilling from his arms. Mori followed, picking up the small pumpkins one by one.

"Honey's a muffin," Kyoya said under his breath. "Point."

"Mori's a horse," Kagome countered. "Two."

Kyoya considered. That put the score at a tie – 49 for both him and Kagome. The game was close to over. Kyoya rapidly counted off. Tamaki and the twins, Honey and Mori, so that left…

Kagome seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same time he did, and both of them began quickly searching for Haruhi.

"Haruhi!"

"Haruhi?"

"Haruhi!"

Kyoya scanned the aisles, his eyes on the lookout for the small girl. Haruhi _had_ to be a horse. He could see Kagome racing along the back wall looking in the same places as well, before she vanished and there was a gasp. Kyoya changed course abruptly to hurry after Kagome.

Haruhi was at the back of the store, and Kagome was looking at her with her face in her hands and wearing an expression of abject despair. Kyoya looked confused, until he saw what Haruhi was doing, and he began to laugh.

Haruhi looked up at Kyoya, a puzzled expression on her face.

"What's so funny, Kyoya-senpai?"

"Nothing," Kyoya told her. "Something amused me. What are you doing, Haruhi?"

Haruhi's expression turned excited.

"Look." She held up a gourd for Kyoya to look at. "They're only charging $1 a pound as a Halloween sale. I'm going to get as much as I can for dinner this week." Haruhi continued loading up squash and corn into her cart quickly, a rarely-seen excitement on her face. Kyoya smirked and met Kagome's eyes, which sparkled and danced.

"Bird," they said together. Kagome dissolved into giggles, and Kyoya couldn't help but laugh.

Haruhi only stopped briefly to give them a puzzled look before turning back to her squash.

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**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment for you, but it really does mean the world to me :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: All of you clamoring for Nekozawa/Kagome crack me up! You are too funny! We shall have to just wait and see what the story brings, ne? ;)**

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"The Halloween Party is only three more days away!" Tamaki proclaimed.

There was a loud exclamation of glee from the customers, excited chattering and gossiping breaking out as the customers discussed their costumes. Kyoya watched on from next to a pillar, taking notes on some of the customer's conversations.

"What are you going to be?"

Kyoya looked down to see Kagome looking up at him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you be with your customers?" he asked.

"They shooed me away." She shrugged, giving him an easy smile. "They don't want me to know what they're being until the party. They all want to surprise me. I think they're plotting together, making sure their outfits don't match."

Kyoya and Kagome both turned to glance at nearly two dozen boys all crouched down in a giant huddle, whispering on the couches. Kagome laughed.

"I've never seen boys so obsessed with costumes," she said. She paused. "Well, except for the Host Club, I guess."

She grinned up at Kyoya, who smirked.

"They all want to impress you," he told her. "Prepare yourself for grand displays of wealth and prestige. It wouldn't do for you to get too dazed or impressed."

Kagome smirked.

"Kyoya-senpai, I _assure_ you, nothing they come up with will top the grand displays of wealth and power I've already seen." She looked amused. "Besides, you're dodging the question. What are you being for the party?"

"Can't you guess?" Kyoya challenged. Kagome laughed and considered.

"Well, Tamaki is being the sexy vampire, and the twins are going as sexy werewolves," she said, ticking people off on her hands. "Honey wants to be a skeleton, and I think Mori is being a scarecrow, and I know Haruhi is going for a tragic ghost look." She looked back up at Kyoya, biting her lip. "Tamaki said we all had to be traditional Halloween costumes, and there aren't many left, so... Frankenstein?"

Kyoya laughed.

"Not quite," he said. "Devil."

"You're going as a devil?" Kagome grinned. "Will you paint your face red?"

"Tamaki was trying to get me to do just that." Kyoya rolled his eyes. "No, I have a full costume being made. It'll have red, look very evil, and I'll have horns and a pitchfork. I'm hoping that should effectively get the 'devil' point across, decidedly _sans_ face paint."

Kagome laughed, and Kyoya smirked, pleased he'd made her laugh.

"Good," she said impishly. "I look forward to seeing it."

"And you?" Kyoya asked, his curiosity aroused. "What will you be?"

"I have no idea." Her eyes sparkled at him. "I lost a bet with the twins. They're making me my entire costume, and I have to wear it, regardless of what it is."

Kyoya chuckled. "You lost a bet with the twins?" he repeated. "You know they'll make something ostentatious for you to wear. I'm surprised you agreed to such a bet in the first place."

"I lost the bet on purpose." Kagome smiled, her eyes devilish. "The twins, for all their faults, are excellent designers, and whatever they make for me to wear, it'll be more chic than anything I could put together myself. And now I don't have to worry about my costume anymore." She grinned. "Plus, now the twins think they pulled one over on me, so they're not going to try to pull any more Halloween tricks on me, at least. They've moved on to bothering Haruhi instead."

His eyes widened in surprise, and Kyoya started laughing, unable to help himself, causing several customers to look up at him in alarm – Kyoya laughing so hard was an unusual sight to see. Kagome grinned and giggled right along with him.

"Kagome Higurashi," he said when he was done laughing, wiping small tears from the corners of his eyes. "If I had known you were so devious when you joined the Host Club, I'd have kicked Tamaki out from being president and put you in charge immediately."

Kagome laughed.

"Oh, Kyoya-senpai," she said, her eyes dancing. "Everyone knows that you hold all the power, not Tamaki. Besides, you're much more devious than I could ever be."

"Are you sure?" Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "I doubt I would ever make a bet like that with the twins."

"We're devious in different ways," Kagome teased. "You're devious business-ily, while I'm devious socially. We complement each other."

She caught his eyes then, her own eyes sparkling and beautiful, and Kyoya felt his throat close on him.

"What luck," he said, his voice husky, "that we're on the same team, then."

Kyoya watched as Kagome's eyes dilated, and her breath seemed to catch in her chest.

"Just imagine if we were always on the same team," she murmured. "We could do anything together."

There was a loud yell, and the moment was broken, Kagome pulling away to go for a costume fitting with the twins, and Kyoya stood there for a long moment, his thoughts swimming.

She was right, he knew. She was right, and he _wanted_ that. He _wanted _to be on the same team as her, for as long as he could.

With Kagome at his side, Kyoya thought he just might be able to conquer the world.

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**Read it? _Please_ review! It means the world to me - it really does - and it only takes a moment for you.  
**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: The Halloween Party's coming up :D! Watch for it in the next week~! Be sure to keep up with all the updates ;)**

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"A Halloween Party!" Renge was over the moon. "Oh, I will have to dress up as Miyaki from Nikohaki-yori dango! I just got the costume I commissioned from this _excellent_ seamstress I found in France, and the Host Club party will be the best place for its debut~!"

Renge swirled around, caught up in the throes of fangirl glory, and Kyoya raised an eyebrow at the twins, who shrugged. _That_ had been why she had run back to France?

A door clicked, and Kyoya saw Kagome come out of the changing room in her Host Club uniform. She looked at Renge with a puzzled expression, before making a beeline for the Kyoya and the twins.

"Kyoya-senpai," she said. "Who is that?"

Kyoya smirked.

"That is the Host Club's self-proclaimed manager," Kyoya began. "2-A's-"

"Renge," Kagome murmured. Her eyes flashed.

"-Renge Houshakuji," Kyoya finished. He gave Kagome an odd look. "Have you two met?"

"No," Kagome said, tossing her head. "But I've heard of her."

Renge, coming down from her fangirl high, hurried over to Kyoya.

"Kyoya-kun, who is this?" she asked, her eyes wide. "Have you taken on a female member of the Host Club?"

"We have," Kyoya confirmed. "Renge, this is Kagome Higurashi, of class 1-A. Kagome, this is Renge."

Renge's eyes grew wide.

"You look so cute in your uniform!" Renge squealed, clapping her hands. "It looks almost just like the ones from Rabu-Rabu Fest 4!"

Kagome looked thrown, and Kyoya stifled a laugh.

"I- yeah, I suppose it does," Kagome said finally.

"So you're in the Host Club?" Renge continued, beaming. "This is the first time the Host Club's ever had a girl! How'd you manage to join?"

"Well, I discovered-"

Hikaru and Kaoru made frantic cutting motions from behind Renge, and Kagome smoothly changed tracks.

"-that I just had a knack for hosting, and the Host Club was gracious enough to accept me with open arms."

"How wonderful!" Renge clapped, stars in her eyes. "And your customers? You have regulars?"

"I think I have about a dozen," Kagome said slowly, glancing at Kyoya for confirmation. "There are another six or so that only come some of the time, but I have a set fanbase, if that's what you mean."

Renge squealed.

"Oh, this is _excellent!_" she exclaimed. "This is perfect! Now, finally, we can have a _shoujo_ storyline in the _Moe Moe Ouran Journal_'s doujinshi!" She ran off in another swirl of fangirlish glee, going to talk animatedly with Tamaki.

Kagome looked stunned.

"Renge is an otaku," Karou explained.

"Like most fangirls," Hikaru said, "she can be safely ignored."

"I just..." Kagome shook her head. "She's not what I expected at _all_."

"We didn't expect her either," Hikaru sniggered.

"She just showed up one day, proclaiming to be Kyoya's fiancée-"

"_Kyoya's_ finacée?!" Kagome's eyes snapped up to Kyoya's. Kyoya held his hands up helplessly, smirking. Was that jealousy flashing in her eyes? Part of him hoped it was.

"I assure you, it was a delusion on her part," he said. "I've never been betrothed to anyone. My father's still trying to marry off my older brothers before he gets to me."

"Not that he told _us_, though," Hikaru groused.

"Let us think he was engaged for ages-"

"-she finally moved on to liking Haruhi-"

"-which is even _more_ weird-"

Kagome shook her head slowly, trying to process everything.

"So... she wanted to marry Kyoya?" Kagome said, summarizing. "But now she's in love with Haruhi?"

"Exactly," the twins chorused, throwing an arm around the other's shoulder and leaning on each other.

"But then..." Kagome looked puzzled. "When was it she dated Nekozawa?"

The twins fell over, having suddenly lost their balance, and Kyoya was unable to hide his own shock as well.

"_Nekozawa?_" he repeated. "To the best of my knowledge, Renge has _never_ dated Nekozawa."

"And Kyoya's knowledge is _extensive_," Hikaru said, scrambling to his feet.

"Believe us: he knows _everything_," Kaoru agreed, hurrying to stand up.

"Renge's definitely never dated Nekozawa-"

"-as she's still head over heels for Haruhi-"

"and if she _had_ dated Nekozawa-"

"-Kyoya would know about it," they finished simultaneously, looking at one another.

Kagome looked unmoved.

"Kyoya doesn't know about _everything_," she said, glancing at him. "There are still some pieces of knowledge that elude his grasp."

She left them, then, going over to join Tamaki and Renge in conversation, and Kyoya watched after her, hiding an expression of puzzlement with his notebook.

_Nekozawa?_ Why on earth did Kagome think Renge had dated _Nekozawa_?

It was absurd to think of. But Kagome's puzzlement had been genuine, and her confidence in her knowledge secure.

The only logical conclusion Kyoya could come to was that Kagome had access to information he didn't. And as she had only just now met Renge, the only other possible source of information was Nekozawa.

Nekozawa…

Kyoya's eyes narrowed.

Nekozawa and Kagome's initial meeting had been electric at first, before they'd settled down and Kagome had agreed to help Nekozawa with… well, with _something_ – he'd initially thought it had been Nekozawa's inability to go into the light, but he'd been disproven later that day. He'd put the matter out of his head – Nekozawa hadn't reappeared, so he'd… well, he hadn't dismissed the matter as _closed_, exactly, but…

He grimaced at himself. It was unlike him to forget even the smallest details.

Then again… thoughts of Kagome seemed to frequently cloud his mind.

But Kagome had said…

Had Kagome seemed _jealous_ when he first told her about Renge? She'd certainly heard of Renge before, it seemed. And if Nekozawa was talking to Kagome outside of school, where Kyoya's information network had a less firm hold... and if she was _jealous…_

His pencil broke in his hand, but Kyoya scarcely noticed it, his eyes seeing red as the shards of wood stabbed into his hand.

Kyoya would _not_ be bested by _Nekozawa_, of all people.

He _refused._

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**Read it? Please review! It only takes a moment for you, but means the world to me :)  
**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Hahahaha! The reviews I get crack me up! So many people are cheering for one boy over another - there are those who want Kyoya, those who are cheering for Nekozawa, and still others that are holding out for Sesshomaru! Hahaha, I can't _wait_ to see how to all react to some of the fun chapters coming up!  
**

**I hope you're all as excited for the Halloween Party as our hosts are~! :D**

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Sighing, Kagome played with her food, idly stabbing the boiled potato over again and again. Her thoughts were all jumbled up and confused, and her stupid potato not agreeing to go on her stupid Western _fork _tool was not helping out her troubled mind.

"Kagome?" Shippo looked over at her. "Everything okay?"

Kagome looked up at Shippo, whose green eyes were layered with concern. Every time she looked at him, she was struck with how very different he was now – all grown up, seven tails in all, all a brilliant red to match the reddish curls that framed his face. His was more sharply angular and masculine now, the roundness of childhood having faded away. His green eyes were striking, enchanting, and occasionally Kagome wondered how many hearts he'd broken, mastering his illusions along the way.

It was a hard vision to reconcile with the picture of the small, eager child she had held dear to her heart.

"I'm fine," she told him. "Honestly. Just... a lot going on at school."

"Oh?" Shippo looked eager. "Anything good?"

"Something at school?" Kagome turned to see Koga frown. "You haven't mentioned any new events to me. Is there something going on besides this Halloween party now?"

"It's not like that," Kagome tried to explain. "It's... getting to know my new friends. Talking to people and getting closer to them in general."

"Closer?" Shippo waggled an eyebrow. "Who do you want to get closer with, Kagome?"

"Stop it!" Kagome flushed, shoving her chair away from the table. "I don't want to do this right now!"

Shippo gasped, Koga swore, and Kagome groaned, knowing she'd just given herself away.

"You _like_ someone," Shippo accused softly. "You _fancy_ them."

"So?" Kagome shot back, defensive. "So what if I do?"

"It's about time," Koga said gruffly, though he wouldn't look at her. "'Bout time she got over mutt-face."

"Sesshomaru won't like this," Shippo warned.

"I _know_ that," Kagome said crossly. "Why do you think I'm so torn up about this whole thing?"

Shippo and Koga exchanged an uneasy look.

"When are you going to tell him?" Shippo asked.

"What am I even _supposed_ to tell him?" Kagome demanded, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "It's not like I've even been asked on a date! I can't just go, 'Hi, Sesshomaru, how was your day? Thanks for saving me from myself and all, but I have this huge crush on one of my classmates – how exactly do you feel about that?'"

Shippo and Koga exchanged uneasy glances.

"Er," said Koga.

"Maybe you should just wait?" Shippo suggested. "Until, you know, you find out if you have to do anything about it."

Kagome gave him a dull stare.

"You mean, in case I end up head over heels in love with a guy who likes someone else and will just lead me on for years and years?" she asked.

Shippo's face turned red, but he held her eyes unflinchingly, chin held high.

"You said it, not me," he said.

Kagome groaned and banged her head off of the table.

"How are you even supposed to have anything with a human boy _anyway?_" Koga wanted to know. "I mean, isn't that the entire reason Sesshomaru-"

"Not entirely." Kagome's voice was muffled as she talked against the table. "It's just be... you know... a hands-off type of relationship, I suppose."

Koga snorted. "These are _teenage boys_, Kagome. 'Hands-off' is not going to be an option."

"Any person who loves me will respect my limits." Kagome sat up and tossed her hair, looking defiant. "Besides, I'm working on it. Maybe I can learn to control the Shikon enough to touch someone safely – in small doses at least."

Shippo and Koga exchanged a look. Koga looked disbelieving, while Shippo was starting to look impish and excited.

"So who is it, Kagome?" Shippo asked, his eyes sparkling. "Is it that boy who you keep visiting?"

"It's _not_ the one with part youkai blood at least, right?" Koga groaned. "Please let it at _least_ be the smart one with glasses."

Kagome flushed.

"I'm not talking about it with anyone!" she said hotly. "Unless it actually goes somewhere, it doesn't matter, and I refuse to get everyone's hopes up for something that might just be entirely in my own head!"

Shippo bit his lip but nodded. Koga raised an eyebrow.

"Y'know, Kagome," he said slowly. "You might want to consider letting him know you want something to happen. He might be in the same headspace you are."

Kagome blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're a pretty girl, who's smart and friendly and just generally a good catch," Koga said with a smirk. "He might think you're out of his league."

Kagome snorted. "Trust me. If someone's out of the other's league, it would not be _me._"

"But give him some sort of indication," Koga continued. "Let him know you like him, but without saying it in as many words."

"I _have _been!" Kagome argued. "We've been flirting up a storm!"

"Yeah, but you flirt with everybody, don't you?" Koga shot back. "That's all you do in your Host Club, isn't it?"

Kagome bit her lip. "Well, yes, but – well, it's different with him!"

"Does _he_ know that?" Koga said pointedly. "Until he does, you'll never know what he actually thinks of you."

"What am I supposed to do, then?" Kagome demanded. "Just go up and say 'hey, you're incredibly gorgeous, we should date'?"

Koga managed to keep a straight face. "Sounds good to me."

Kagome threw a spoon at him, and Koga laughed as he dodged it. Shippo swiped it out of the air.

"Just make him feel special, Kagome," Shippo suggested, tapping the spoon thoughtfully. "If you do something for him or give him something that you don't give anybody else, he'll know you think he's special. That will get the point across in a better way."

Kagome considered. "Something special..."

"You could just kidnap him, you know," Koga suggested with a smirk. "Drag him back to the manor, tell him you've decided he's going to be your man..."

Kagome's eyes lit up.

"Make him kill evil demon birds as a test?" Kagome said, grinning. "See if he can manage to ride a bike on a cliff's edge?"

Koga chuckled.

"No no, I've got it! Make him wear your old school girl uniform!" Shippo suggested, grinning. "Then see if he can fight without flashing everyone his underwear!"

The three laughed and laughed as the servants brought out dessert, telling stories and remembering, Shippo and Koga relieved to finally see a genuine smile back on Kagome's face.

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**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment for you, but it means the world to me :)**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: The party! The party! Hope you're as excited for the party as the Host Club! Watch for the updates this weekend - after all, the party is a *very* big deal :P**

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"The party's tonight! The party's tonight!" Tamaki was scrambling around the club room, preparing to get ready. "Oh, where did I put my fangs? Where is my cape?"

"Relax, tono," the twins droned. "It's not for three hours yet."

"The _girls_ are already getting ready!" Tamaki objected. "We should be too!"

"The _girls_," Kagome said, annoyed, "are only 'getting ready' so early to make sure Haruhi's make-up comes out properly looking like a tragic ghost and less like a reject from clown school!"

Kyoya stifled a snigger. The previous day, Tamaki's attempt to help Haruhi through her dry-run of her ghost costume had ended in a spectacular failure.

"But everything has to be _perfect!_" Tamaki wailed. "If we don't properly celebrate Halloween, if we don't observe the rituals and the tradition of this night, we could all end up being cursed!"

"Kukukuku... interested in curses now, are we, Suoh...?"

The door creaked open, and Kyoya saw Nekozawa enter, bearing Beezelnef before him. Tamaki shrieked and ran to hide behind Haruhi, who rolled her eyes.

"Nekozawa-senpai," Kyoya said, pushing up his glasses. He felt his blood turn to ice at the sight of him, but he managed to keep his tone neutral. "How can we help you?"

"I heard you were having a party," Nekozawa said, his voice eerie. "A party to celebrate this special night, when the veil between worlds is the thinnest, and the mysterious happens and magic comes..."

The twins glanced at each other.

"Why is your cloak all spotted like that?" Hikaru asked.

Nekozawa looked annoyed. Kyoya glanced over from the top of his notebook, hiding a wide smirk.

Nekozawa's black cloak was no longer the dramatic drape of silken, heavy black fabric that had simultaneously been so mysterious and dramatic. Now, the cape had large splotches of brown, purple, and stained, tainted white – it looked less like a practitioner of the dark arts' robe, and more like a clown's drop cloth, or like an abstract rendering of the ugly parts of the universe.

Or, just generally, just a bit of a mess.

But it was definitely not an intimidating, mysterious black.

"The laundress had an unfortunate accident with bleach," Nekozawa admitted crossly. "All of my cloaks… I must endure until they can all be re-dyed."

Kyoya smirked behind his hand. Industrial-strength bleach was difficult to counteract. And the laundress had been paid well to ensure that the cloaks would be unrepairable.

The twins snickered.

"What happened to your uniform?" Kaoru asked.

Kyoya looked over. The uniform Nekozawa wore under his cloak seemed _very_ tight, almost as if he'd worn a middle schooler's uniform by mistake. The jacket pulled at the buttons, the shirt look suffocating, and the pants were ludicrously tight, almost as if they were supposed to be European.

Hikaru snickered. "Why's it look so-"

"It shrunk," Nekozawa said curtly, cutting Hikaru off. "Again, a mistake with the laundry. Rest assured, the laundress has been dealt with."

She had. Kyoya had hired her immediately to oversee his own things after she'd been fired from the Nekozawa estate. Anyone who could keep Nekozawa's black cloaks so black and unfaded for so long and expertly sabotage laundry was worth having on staff. He'd tripled her salary, and she was more than pleased to swear her loyalty to the Ootori family.

The twins laughed and laughed, Nekozawa scowled, and Kyoya gave him a feigned sympathetic expression. It was too bad that he'd ended up looking ludicrous today. No girl would want to date anyone who looked like a fool.

How unfortunate…

The twins cackled and ran off to find their backpacks – to locate flashlights, Kyoya assumed. They tended to enjoy that particular prank.

Honey skipped over to Nekozawa, ignoring his tragic appearance and beaming at him.

"Are you coming to the party, Neko-chan?" Honey asked, blinking up at him with a wide smile. "There will be lots of candy!"

Nekozawa looked startled. "I- I don't think I'm invited," he said.

"Of course you're invited," Haruhi said with a smile, turning to look at him. "You might not be a Host Club customer, but you're definitely a regular around here."

Nekozawa looked pleased.

"I will be there, then," he said, his eerie tone back. "I will join you, on this night of evil and darkness, to help you revel in the rituals that must be observed. But first..."

He walked over to Haruhi and Kagome. Kagome looked up from carefully painting Haruhi's face to look at him, and Kyoya casually eased over to be within earshot. The best position he managed allowed him to see Nekozawa's face and the back of Kagome's head.

"These are for you," Nekozawa said. His voice was quiet, but Kyoya could hear he'd dropped his eerie tone of voice. "I heard you would dress in black for the party."

"Oh, Nekozawa..." Kagome took something in her hands, turning them over and over. Kyoya was dismayed to hear her tone. "You shouldn't have. You really didn't need to do this."

"I wanted to." Nekozawa's eyes seemed to gleam. "Or did you forget...?"

"I didn't forget. I just... I didn't _expect_ this..."

Kagome sounded flustered, and Nekozawa looked triumphant; though, Kyoya thought privately, also patently ridiculous, wearing his foolish splotchy cloak.

"It's very kind of you," Kagome said finally. "I think it would raise too many questions tonight, though, perhaps. But maybe..."

Nekozawa looked pleased.

"It was my pleasure just to help," he said, bowing low. "I assure you, I will take no offense regardless of what you wear."

"Are you really going to come?" Kagome asked. "You only just found out about it – will you have a costume?"

Nekozawa's eyes lit. "I have just the thing... a family heirloom… something from my books..." he murmured. He straightened. "I must leave immediately to retrieve my costume. Until tonight, Kagome."

He made a creepy noise and advanced Beezelnef toward Tamaki, who whimpered, before swirling his cloak in a grand fashion and exiting the club room, just as the twins came rushing back.

"Ehh? Nekozawa's gone already?" Kaoru said, disappointed.

"We shouldn't have hid these so well," Hikaru said, flicking his flashlight on and off underneath his chin. "What a pain."

"That's so mean to Nekozawa-senpai," Haruhi said crossly. "It's not his fault he's sensitive to light."

The twins exchanged a look that clearly expressed their immense amount of not caring.

"You should keep them out," Kagome told them. "It's creepy-looking when you flick them on and off like that. It'll be great at the party"

"You think?" Hikaru said, tilting his head. He looked toward Kaoru, lighting up the bottom half of his face. "Boo!"

"Hahaha, that's great!" Kaoru exclaimed. He lit up his own flashlight. "Boo!"

They flicked their flashlights on and off, playing, and Kyoya moved over to look at Kagome and Haruhi more clearly, ignoring the twins' silly antics. Kagome was wearing her Ouran uniform, clean and pressed as always, her legs tucked up under her, and Kyoya found himself imaging her sitting like that at his kotatsu, formally meeting his family.

He pushed the image from his mind.

"What are you doing?" he asked Kagome. "I thought you just needed to paint her face white."

"I _am_ painting her face white," Kagome said, biting her lip as she focused on Haruhi. "But that's what Tamaki did yesterday – just painted it a flat white. I'm using some different shades of white, as well as some highlights and shadows. It'll be more flattering to her, and it'll look spookier as well."

Kyoya nodded. "I see. It looks much better."

Haruhi's makeup looked great so far, actually, but Kyoya wasn't one for flowery compliments. Haruhi's face had been shaded around the edges and into the hollows of her cheeks, making her face look thinner and spookier. The front of her face was highlighted in a little perfect triangle of bright white, bringing her large, tragic eyes to the front. Her eyes were unadorned so far, though, but Kyoya was confident Kagome would address that fact when she came to it.

"Are you going to be wearing contacts?" he asked Haruhi. "Ones other than your normal day-to-day pair?"

Haruhi grinned.

"Hikaru and Kaoru got me a pair of pure black ones that take up my entire eyeball, but they're a little too creepy," Haruhi told him. "Mori-senpai got me a pair of haunting gray ones I think I want to wear. They look like storms."

"They're circle lenses," Kagome added. "They'll expand the iris of her eye ever so slightly, but just enough to help give her a tragic, haunted look..."

She was brushing shadows around Haruhi's eyes now, helping them to pop out all the more. Kyoya watched for a moment, wondering what was bothering him about the scene, before it clicked.

"You're touching Haruhi," he said aloud.

Kagome and Haruhi both turned to look at him. Haruhi turned to look back at Kagome, puzzled.

"He's right," she said, blinking. "You've been holding my face still this whole time. Don't you...?"

Kyoya understood her trailing off. How best to express the sentiment "you freak out every time you touch somebody" in polite words...?

Kagome shrugged, decidedly casual.

"Not touching directly," she said. She snapped something on her wrist, and Kyoya realized she had rubber gloves on – very thick ones, if he was correct. "Just... almost. Besides, you don't want my hands all over your face. My skin oils could smear the makeup."

Haruhi looked appeased, but Kyoya examined the gloves more carefully.

"So touching through clothing is okay?" he questioned. "It's only skin-to-skin touching that is bad?"

Kagome glanced at him, biting her lip.

"Yes," she said finally. "For the most part."

"Why do you avoid the hugs from the twins, then?" he asked. "You'd only be touching school uniform to school uniform – it isn't as if your hands or heads would touch."

"I said 'for the most part', didn't I?" Kagome snapped. "I don't get to make the rules for how it works – I just live with them."

Her eyes flashed, and Kyoya backed off immediately. The last thing he wanted was to upset her, no matter how curious he was.

"What did Nekozawa want with you?" he asked instead. "It sounded like he gave you a present."

"Oh!"

Kagome's anger melted away, replaced by a soft expression. She put her makeup brushes down and turned to a pile of small black fabric on the table next to her, picking it up.

"He made me these," she said, handing the ball of fabric to Kyoya.

Puzzled, Kyoya examined the fabric to discover two very long, elbow-length black gloves, spun of the finest spider-silk he'd ever seen. There was only a whisper of fabric between his fingers, so thin was the silk, and they were made with a beautiful, gothic lace pattern in the threads.

"He _made_ these?" Kyoya said, rubbing the fabric between his fingers. He knew, of course, that the Nekozawa family was revered for their silk, but he'd had no idea that Nekozawa could manipulate and weave the fine filaments himself. He turned to her. "He made these for you?"

Kyoya watched as Kagome blushed, ducking her head, and a hot flash of jealousy consumed him.

"I mentioned I disliked being unable to touch people," she said, picking her makeup brushes up again. "He took it upon himself to provide me with a solution – one that would match my costume tonight, at least."

She didn't mention _why_ she was unable to touch people, still. All Kyoya's research hadn't landed any results except a possible extreme sensitivity to electrical signals sent beneath the skin, which could disturb how her own axons and synapses performed, but she seemed too intelligent to be experiencing neuron misfirings.

Though, if she consciously _avoided_ having her neurons misfire, she could have such a condition and still be intelligent. But to Kyoya, it still didn't quite seem to fit.

"That was kind of him." Kyoya's struggled to keep his voice from going cold, barely managing a neutral tone.

"It was entirely _unnecessary_ of him," Kagome said with a sigh. "They're gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but it's not as if I'm going to go around touching people tonight. And I already have the only pair of gloves I think I'll need."

"Your rubber ones?" Kyoya said, raising an eyebrow as she coated Haruhi's eyelashes with a pitch-black mascara.

"No," Kagome said. "I traded him information for a short pair of skin-colored silk gloves already. Short ones, just up to the wrist. So thin they're barely noticeable, hopefully."

"_Another_ pair of silk gloves?" Kyoya said. An ugly sense of jealousy reared up, strangling his chest. She traded information with _Nekozawa? _"And what are _these _ones for, pray tell?"

To his surprise, Kagome looked up at him from under her hair, and she blushed.

"It's nothing," she said, looking away quickly. "I just wanted them. Just in case. You're done, by the way, Haruhi. All you need now is your costume."

She turned, snatched the gloves back from Kyoya and hurried away, leaving Kyoya and Haruhi to watch as she left.

"She wanted them in case she got asked on a date," Haruhi told Kyoya, watching Kagome go. "She wanted to be able to hold hands."

Kyoya turned to Haruhi, astonished.

"Hold hands?" he repeated, and Haruhi looked annoyed.

"Just because she's smart and whatnot doesn't mean she's not still a girl," she told Kyoya. "Kagome wants to be able to be as normal as possible for as long as possible – especially if someone special asks her out."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow.

"Nekozawa seems to appreciate the fact that she's _not_ exactly normal," he said, examining his nails in a careful display of indifference. "I don't see why she need have bothered."

Haruhi looked mad, now.

"Don't be an idiot, senpai! Nekozawa already asked Kagome out, and she turned him down." Haruhi glared at him. "She's clearly hoping someone who she knows cares about appearances asks her out – otherwise she wouldn't have bothered with the gloves."

Kyoya's breath caught as Haruhi stormed off to go change into her costume. He turned to watch Kagome, who was joining in a game of flashlight tag with the twins, teaming up with Tamaki against the pair.

Nekozawa had already asked her out?

But he'd been turned _down? _

Everything was happening so quickly. Kyoya had only just realized he should consider Nekozawa his rival, but Nekozawa had already acted? Kyoya cursed himself for his hesitance. He'd been hoping Kagome would as _him_ out, and he wouldn't have to be the one to pull the trigger, so to speak – after all, what if she was just being friendly? Albeit _very_ friendly and flirtatious, but he'd seen her at the Host Club – it wasn't as if she was treating him _that_ differently than the others.

But Nekozawa had asked her out already. If Nekozawa had been turned down, that meant Kyoya still had a chance. Nekozawa wasn't one to just take rejection standing down, but so long as she wasn't dating him right _now_, Kyoya still had a chance.

His eyes sharpened.

He'd _make_ his chance, if necessary, maybe even tonight. Kyoya wasn't about to let Kagome date somebody else – not if he could help it.

Kyoya wanted Kagome to be his.

* * *

**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment for you, but it really does mean the world to me! :)**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Happy Halloween (chapter)! Hahahaha, maybe I should have waited until the fall to post the entire story so the events would sync up, but I am not that patient of a person. :P **

**Be sure to let me know what you think, and be sure to look for another chapter later this weekend - one that may clear some things up for many of you... ;)**

* * *

"Happy Halloween!"

The crowd cheered at Tamaki's announcement halfway through the party, to formally welcome everyone, and Kyoya smiled, pushing his glasses up. The night was looking to be a grand success.

The guests were delighted (and _very _eager and excited) to receive a kiss on the cheek as their treat from a host of their choice. Tamaki's customers ended up with two small blood dots on their cheeks as well, from his sexy vampire fangs, but none of them seemed to mind. Kyoya's own customers had sighed delightedly and blushed, before scurrying off, embarrassed, to go compare with their friends. Kyoya found the whole matter rather silly. Could a kiss on the cheek really mean so much...?

There was a loud clamor of laughter, and Kyoya turned to see Kagome pointing and laughing at Junnosuke, who was doing a handstand and attempting to walk across the floor, many of the other guests laughing and cheering him on a well.

Kagome had taken Kyoya's words to heart – when he'd said "girls only" got to trick-or-treat, she'd happily included herself in their number, and was delighting in asking all her male customers "trick-or-treat", to their surprise and bafflement, and then making them perform outlandish tricks for her when they failed to come up with an acceptable treat. Underneath their embarrassment, though, the boys all seemed to preen under the attention and enjoy the challenge, and one or two of them seemed eager to get asked trick-or-treat again. And she was creating a great spectacle for all the party guests to enjoy.

Kagome was clever like that, Kyoya reflected. She seemed clever with just about everything, including people. Including him. And most other boys, apparently…

Kyoya turned to look at Nekozawa, who was wearing a Zorro costume, and though Kyoya hated to admit it, it was a _very_ sharp costume.

The main piece of the costume had been made from a rich spandex/elasticine mix, preventing it from looking like pajamas, instead giving it a rich appearance and holding his body closely – a body, Kyoya was annoyed to notice, that was quite toned and fit. His belt had stunning embroidery, as well as his gloves and the edge of his cape, and the cape itself was a marvel of flowing silk. His hat and mask looked luxe and perfect, and Kyoya was sure that Nekozawa must feel quite pleased with himself at getting ahold of such a perfect costume on such short notice.

Nekozawa was currently leaning against a wall by himself, watching Kagome make Junnosuke try to do a handstand and walk across the floor again again, with a look in his eye that Kyoya suspected was fondness. At least Nekozawa hadn't managed to talk to Kagome yet, as she was so busy entertaining clients. Kyoya eased his way over across the floor, determined to keep it that way

"Enjoying the party, Nekozawa-senpai?" he asked politely.

Nekozawa's eyes flicked up to his.

"Any ritual or gathering on this, the most darkest and poignant of nights, is a cause for celebration," Nekozawa intoned darkly. He gave a dark laugh, pulling Beezelnef from the folds of his cloak. "Let us hope the spirits of the Nether world will be pleased with our offerings."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "Glad to hear you're enjoying yourself," he remarked.

Nekozawa let a smirk slip through his spooky countenance, before looking back up to Kyoya.

"Are there any more rituals planned?" he asked, his voice spooky once more.

"There's still bobbing for apples," Kyoya said. "There's also Tamaki with a Oujia board and the twins with ghost stories later during the jack-o-lantern carving contest."

"Suoh with a Oujia board…?" Nekozawa looked disgusted. "He doesn't have the proper respect or knowledge of what to do."

"Mm." Kyoya looked at Nekozawa. "Your costume is excellent. Though I must admit, I'm a bit surprised to see that a Zorro costume is your family heirloom."

Nekozawa was confused for a moment, before recognition sparked.

"This isn't the costume I planned on wearing," Nekozawa admitted. "I was planned on wearing a lord's ancient kimono, but it turned out not to be dark enough, and it didn't have a hood. Even my servants were more in favor of me wearing Zorro – we weren't sure how much light would be at the party, and if I'd be able to tolerate wearing blue and purple."

Kyoya bit back a sarcastic remark.

"How disappointing," Kyoya said instead.

The two of them watched a boy dancing to _Thriller_ by himself at Kagome's command for a moment, the female customers of the Host Club laughing and cheering him on.

"It's also disappointing that you have to leave so early," Kyoya said regretfully. "Though I do hope you've had a good time while you've been here."

Nekozawa turned to look at Kyoya, puzzled.

"Leave…?"

"Oh?" Kyoya face was a perfect mask of confusion. "I'm sorry. Don't you have to pick Kirimi up from her class party?"

Nekozawa's eyes widened.

"Kirimi…?" he breathed. "Her class had a party?"

"Didn't they?" Kyoya said, keeping his tone surprised. "Miss Kurogawa was mentioning her younger brother was dressing up as a puppy dog. Her brother was so excited, she was telling me. She'd talked to the organizers, and their teacher was going to bring in pumpkins and a cauldron and even a black cat for them to see."

Nekozawa's breath caught, horrified.

"A cat…?"

"Black cats are traditional," Kyoya continued, as if he didn't see Nekozawa's alarm. "As are pumpkins, broomsticks, candy, cauldrons, witches…" He gave him a small smile. "It'll be nice, for the children to get their first taste of Halloween."

Nekozawa was already scrambling to get his phone out.

"I- I have to leave immediately, Ootori," Nekozawa said, fumbling with his mobile. "Tell Kagome I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer. But I have to go."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow in confusion. "But your sister's party doesn't end for another hour. They've probably just finished playing games and are just now bringing out the Halloween treats."

"I have to go!"

Nekozawa bolted, muttering things about cats and idiot teachers and foolish Kirimi not talking to him as he ran. Kyoya watched him go, satisfied, giving a small hand wave as he sprinted from the hall.

Financing a kindergarten Halloween party may have been atypical, but it had provided excellent results. Kyoya made a mental note to look into altruism as a method of effective manipulation more often.

"Happy Halloween, Nekozawa," he murmured quietly. "Happy Halloween."

Kyoya turned back to the party, which was as animated as ever. It seemed that Honey was just wrapping up "pin the fallen-off arm on the zombie".

"It's time to play bobbing for apples!"

At the twins' cry, the guests all moved toward the giant tubs of apples, oohing in excitement, and Kyoya smirked. The twins had won their fight with Tamaki about the best type of apple to use, and had thus commandeered the entire game for their own use, whatever Halloween mischief that included. Kyoya suspected that some of the apples would be fake to surprise the girls, and that most of the apples the boys managed to get from their bucket would have worms.

The crowd moved around him to reach the other end of the hall, and Kyoya saw Kagome emerge from the crowd, also not going towards the giant wooden buckets of water. She saw him and shot him a grin before joining him, and Kyoya smiled. He hadn't gotten to see her very well yet this evening or talk to her, so her interruption was well welcome. Kyoya took the chance to give her costume a good look, only to feel his eyes grow wide, and he barely won the fight to keep his jaw from dropping open.

Kagome was dressed as a witch, but as a very, _very _sexy witch. Her neckline was cut in a daringly low V, her asymmetrical A-line skirt cut daringly high, and her short sleeves and hemline were slashed, giving her a ragged, someone-tried-to-tear-this-off-of-me look. He was pleased to see she wasn't wearing the gloves Nekozawa had made her either, so long, smooth arms were exposed to match the long, bare legs that the short skirt flaunted. The entire dress was done in a luxe black silk that looked incredibly soft to the touch, and it hugged Kagome like a glove. Her pointy hat was slightly off-center, giving her a playful, flirtatious look, and tall, knee-high black silk boots finished the look, complete with very high heels, making her look every bit the devilish witch she was to portray.

Kyoya felt his mouth go dry as Kagome sauntered over.

The twins had _definitely_ outdone themselves.

"Hi," Kagome said breathlessly when she reached him. "How's it going?"

Kyoya cleared his throat. "Everything's going well," he told her. "We've already made a tidy profit from all the silly carnival games, and we're not even done with the night."

Kagome's eyes sparkled.

"I meant for you," she said, tilting her head playfully. "How are you?"

"We're making a profit," he told her, smirking. "Of course I'm doing well."

Kagome laughed, and Kyoya felt his chest swell.

"You look stunning," he told her, eyeing her up again. "I've never seen a witch costume quite so..."

"Skimpy?" Kagome suggested.

Kyoya laughed. "I was going to say sexy."

"Of course you were." She grinned, doing a playful twirl, making her skirt flare out. "The twins went a bit overboard, I think. But I did lose the bet."

"Even if it was on purpose," Kyoya added, and Kagome's eyes sparkled.

"Even so," she agreed.

They smiled at each other for a moment, before Kagome gave him a once-over.

"You look great," she told him, her eyes looking up to meet his. "Your devil costume is... wow. Just wow."

"Thank you." Kyoya smirked, taking a showy bow. "It was intended to be 'wow'."

His costume consisted of a richly-patterned crimson and black vest that was tailored to fit him exactly, as well as a black silk shirt and pants, a black lace jabot and seal at his throat, and a high-necked red silk cape to swirl ominously behind him. He had on prosthetic horns as well, and he was enjoying carrying around the solid pitchfork he'd had made – it was large and intimidating, and Kyoya found himself having fun with using it as a sort of walking stick, making the base **_thud_** every time he took a step.

"No, really." Kagome licked her lips. "That's almost sexier than my costume is. You certainly look more sexy in it."

Kyoya felt his throat close. _Had she just called him sexy?_

"I sincerely doubt that," he said. "There is no way anyone here could possibly top your costume."

"Ha! You'd be wrong," she told him. Her tone was playful. "Because you _definitely_ do."

"Your opinion is clearly biased," he said, giving her a smirk. "You're a heterosexual female. You cannot objectively judge between the sexiness of two costumes when a male is wearing one and a female the other – unless the male was hideous, you would pick the male over the female every time."

"And your own opinion isn't similarly biased?" Kagome threw back at him, smiling. "Or are you not a heterosexual male that would always find the female more alluring than the male?"

"I certainly have more experience judging in what is more objectively sexy on the male and female form," Kyoya shot back. "For my references, see: the entire Host Club cosplay history."

Kagome laughed, and Kyoya smiled, a small, genuine smile at seeing her laugh so freely. When she stopped, she grinned up at him, her eyes filled with mirth.

"Perhaps we'll have to agree to disagree," she said, her eyes dancing.

Kyoya let out a dramatic sigh. "If you insist."

"Oh, I do." Her eyes sparkled. "So, what kind of demon are you?"

"The King of the Demons," Kyoya said, gesturing to his costume. "What did you think I was?"

"Well, I did figure a Western demon, not one from Japan," Kagome said, smiling. "But I don't know much about Western demons and devils. There's what – imps, devils..."

"Ah." Kyoya adjusted his glasses. "I was just going for an abstract King of the Demons. The Top Devil, if you will. Nothing so precise."

"Oh?" Kagome's voice was oddly innocent, subtly mischievous. She looked up at him, eyes glinting, and the look she gave him was positively _naughty_. "And here I thought you might have been an incubus."

Kyoya felt his heart stop.

An _incubus?_

She thought...?

Had she just implied...?

Just the thought sent a surge of desire through his veins.

Did she _really...?_

His heart slowly started back up again, and Kyoya fought to keep his face from going red, but he couldn't keep the incredulous expression off his face. Kagome laughed and promptly ignored it.

"Well, devils don't get special treatment from me, regardless of what kind they might be," she told him, smiling.

"They don't?" Kyoya asked, fighting to get his breathing back to normal after her implication. He'd rather _thought_ he'd been getting special treatment – surely she hadn't implied similar things to anyone _else_...?

"Nope!" She grinned at him. "So! Trick or treat?"

Kyoya blinked. _Trick or treat?_

"You're trick or treating with me?" he said blankly.

"Yep!" Kagome's smile was playful, hopeful. "Why not?"

Kyoya blinked again. Kagome's tone was determinedly light and happy, but there was just an edge of uneasiness to it, like she was nervous about what she would say. He looked at her more closely, concerned, and her eyes darted up to his, widening in surprise, and Kyoya sucked his breath in as their eyes met, her sapphire eyes holding his with her gaze.

She was _nervous_. Despite her confident, playful banter, she was nervous – at the very least, a bit on edge_. _Just as nervous as him, even, maybe.

Why would she be nervous around him...?

Unless...?

His hope bolstering him, Kyoya found new resolve.

"That's a dangerous thing to ask a devil," he told her, his voice low but still teasing. "Devils know many, _many_ tricks, Kagome_._"

He purred out her name, and Kagome's cheeks flushed. Kyoya felt a rush of triumph at managing to insinuate something suggestive enough to make her blush just like she had done to him.

"So I'm told," she murmured. "So I'm told. But..."

"But...?" Kyoya prompted.

"But..."

Kagome hesitated. Kyoya could almost see her gather her courage up, licking her lips, before looking up at him to meet his eyes once more.

"I heard the hosts were giving out special treats to those who asked trick-or-treat."

Kyoya felt his heart stop.

Kagome stood there, watching him, anxiety in her eyes, but Kyoya couldn't move.

A kiss.

A _kiss._

She'd asked him for a _kiss!_

The hosts were giving out _kisses_ to the girls who said trick-or-treat! The thought that maybe Kagome had planned all this when she'd suggested giving out kisses all the way back when everything was being planned just to get a kiss from him flashed through his mind – had she wanted him to kiss her so badly? Did she like him that much? – before another thought entered his mind – one with greater implications.

His mental voice considered this new thought, turning it over and over, becoming very still.

"A kiss?" His voice was quiet; serious, now.

Kagome nodded wordlessly, an edge of nervousness still in her eyes. Kyoya licked his lips, paused, and opened his mouth to speak.

"You realize if I kiss you, I'll have to touch you...?" Kyoya asked. His voice was low, and he kept his eyes on hers.

Kagome's tone was determinedly light.

"It'll only be for a moment," she said, her voice trying for casual, but not quite getting there. "I hardly think there would be any harm..."

Kyoya caught his breath.

"You would let me touch you?" he asked quietly. "Me?"

"You're making this into a bigger deal than it is," Kagome said impatiently, brushing her hair behind her ear. "It's just-"

"No," Kyoya said. "I'm not."

Kagome bit her lip, giving her away, and Kyoya could feel the gravity of the moment. Kagome only let one person touch her – her guardian – and even that touch (that he'd seen) was only in extreme distress. There was only one person whose touch she tolerated. Only one.

And now, she was saying that there would be _two_.

That she wanted him to touch her.

Him.

Kagome's eyes made their way back up to his, and Kyoya admired her resilience. He knew he must seem cold, just standing there, not responding, but he had to make sure she was certain – he couldn't do this without her full consent of what she was agreeing to.

"Kyoya..."

Her deep blue eyes locked with his, the depth the her azure orbs taking Kyoya's breath away.

"Trick or treat?" she ventured. Her smile was small, almost shy, and his heart skipped a beat.

Wordlessly, Kyoya leaned down to kiss her cheek.

Her cheek was impossibly soft under his lips, and he could smell a faint whisper of strawberries in her hair. She shivered at his kiss, her cheek blushing under his lips, and suddenly Kyoya felt so full of emotion, so filled with _wanting_, so badly did he want to kiss her cheek over and over again, and then capture her lips, claiming her with a fierce kiss, but even just this, even just kissing her cheek meant everything, and he suddenly felt as if he knew what all those girls earlier had been going on about, getting so much out of just a kiss to the cheek...

Somehow, Kyoya managed to pull himself away, breathing hard, not quite sure what had happened. Kagome let out a small sigh, blushing prettily, but she gave him a smile. Her eyes were sparkling, like diamonds lost in sapphires, and Kyoya found he couldn't look away.

"I want to go out with you," he blurted, surprising himself with his own daring. "I want... I mean... I want… I meant..."

He cleared his throat, embarrassed. It was completely unlike him to be so crudely blunt. He took a moment to collect himself, though his cheeks still burned.

"Kagome, will you go out on a date with me?"

Kagome looked stunned herself – but not in a bad way; in a star-struck kind of way, he hoped. There was a sudden cheer, and both Kyoya and Kagome turned to look – Tamaki had managed to come up with the reddest apple in the tub while blindfolded, and Honey was happily handing him his prize.

Kagome turned back to him, her eyes meeting his again, and this time, her gaze was almost shy.

"Yes," she said quietly. She offered him a small smile, entirely uncharacteristic of the usual confident Kagome that Kyoya knew, but utterly adorable in its shy bashfulness. "I'd like that."

"Good. Good," Kyoya said, adjusting his glasses. He knew he was babbling. "I'll- I'll get the details to you soon. Will that work?"

"That'd be fine." Kagome was playing with a lock of her hair now, twirling it in her hands. She glanced back up at him, deep blue eyes locking with his once more, and he felt his throat go dry. "Kyoya?"

_Kyoya._ He loved it when she forgot the -_senpai. _He cleared his throat. "Yes?"

Suddenly, the impish light was back in her eyes, joined by a teasing glint and a sparkle of happiness.

"Thanks for asking me out."

She danced away from him after that, clamoring for her turn to bob for an apple before all the good apples were gone, and soon after, there was chanting and cheering for her as she secured a green apple on her first try, before letting the twins take their turn.

Kyoya was content to watch from the sidelines, leaning against the wall with a secretive smile. Honey tried to engage him back into the activities, worried he wasn't enjoying himself, but Kyoya waved him off, assuring him he was fine.

He'd secured a date with Kagome. He'd secured a date with _Kagome_.

How could anything else possibly top _that?_

* * *

_**Behold!**_** A magnificent chapter of fanfiction, a trick of the highest order! And now, my treat - a review, if you will, dear reader? ;)  
**

**Hahaha, I'm having too much fun. If you read it, please review! :D**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: As always... be sure to let me know what you think. also - what do you think will come next? You should know by now that things are never as simple as they seem... ;)**

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Kagome came home from the Halloween party, with a silly, soppy smile on her face.

"I'm home~!"

Koga looked up at her, a cookie in his mouth, and promptly choked.

"Sesshomaru let you out of the house looking like _that?_"

"Kagome changed at school," Shippo said, his eyes alight. "I think she looks _great_."

"You would," Koga muttered.

"Sesshomaru hasn't actually seen my costume yet," Kagome admitted.

"You should go show him," Shippo said, grinning at her. "Tell him all about your fun night out."

Kagome blinked. "But Shippo-"

"_All_ about your fun night out," Shippo repeated.

Kagome bit her lip. "Alright."

"He's in the dojo," Koga told her, watching her carefully. "Don't damage the mats with those shoes."

Kagome could hear Koga start interrogating Shippo as she left. She was glad she'd gotten Shippo to be her body guard for the night – he'd been able to illusion himself and blend in with the other party girls without suspicion, a feat Koga _never_ would have been able to pull off.

Shippo had, though, seen Kyoya's kiss.

Kagome face flushed at the thought of it, and she sighed softly, putting her hands to her warm cheeks.

It had taken all her courage to 'trick-or-treat' with him. Even with Shippo's insistence that she show him he was special, still... anything could have happened. He could have started spilling awful secrets to her right in the middle of the party. He might not have been able to stop.

But instead, he'd realized what all she was offering him, and accepted it reverently. And when the Shikon started coming alive, all it had drawn from him was that he wanted to date her – and then he'd gone and asked her out.

Kagome smiled to herself, her cheeks still warm.

A date! A real _date!_

With _Kyoya_!

She knew she must look ridiculous, skipping down the corridor in 6" heels, but she was too excited to care.

She stopped as she reached the dojo. She paused, composed herself, took a deep breath, and knocked on the wooden door frame.

"Sesshomaru?"

There was a murmur of assent, and she slid the door open.

Sesshomaru was inside, wearing a white cotton gi and hakama, holding Tenseiga and going through katas, slow and deliberate. His hair was immaculate, his body strong through the precision of his movements and the thin cotton gi, and his markings were vivid on his skin – unhidden, for once. Small beads of sweat ran down his long neck and over his collar bones, down his chest, vanishing under the white cotton, leaving his skin glistening with a salty shine, and Kagome found herself watching him as he finished his set, wordless.

When she saw him every day, it was easy to forget how very beautiful he was.

But he _was_ beautiful.

After finishing his set, Sesshomaru straightened and turned to look at her, a slow smirk spreading across his face.

"Come," he said, gesturing. "Let me see you in the light."

Kagome carefully stepped into the room, extra-careful not to damage the matting with her shoes, before doing a careful turn to show off her costume. She paused and looked up at Sesshomaru, her shoulders back, chin up, and head tilted ever-so-slightly, and she felt a flush of pleasure as Sesshomaru's eyes grew heated.

"That," he informed her, "is a singularly inappropriate outfit."

"The skirt's about as long as my old school uniform skirt," she told him, grinning. "I measured."

"That, too, was a singularly inappropriate outfit."

Kagome laughed, and Sesshomaru's eyes softened.

"You look lovely," he told her. "Did you have fun?"

"Oh! It was _so_ much fun!" Kagome told him, excited. "I told the boys to do ridiculous things as 'tricks' for trick-or-treating, and they actually _did _them! One boy had to walk on his hands, I made another one dressed as a wolf give us all his best werewolf howl, someone else had to dance to _Thriller_ all by himself-! It was so funny, Sesshomaru! I had so much fun!"

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "These boys enjoy you torturing them?"

Kagome grinned. "They certainly didn't seem to mind."

Sesshomaru smirked.

"Good. I'm glad you had a good time."

He turned to return to his katas. Kagome paused, biting her lip.

"Ah. Sesshomaru... there's one more thing."

Sesshomaru turned. "Oh?"

Kagome took a deep breath.

"One of my classmates asked me out," she said, nibbling on her lip. "On a date. Like a date-date."

She held her breath, anxiously watching for Sesshomaru's response.

Sesshomaru held himself still. Kagome could see him standing very still, breathing evenly, before his eyes returned to hers.

"How fortunate," he murmured. His amber eyes glowed. "Do you return this young man's affection?"

"Um..." Kagome winced. "Yes?"

"Then have a good time." He turned back to his katas. "Though, make sure he knows that if he breaks your heart, he will not only have the entire Eastern wolf pack on his trail, but he will face _my _wrath as well."

Kagome looked at his back, a worm gnawing guiltily at her gut.

"Sesshomaru..." Kagome fought to keep her voice even. "Is that really all you're going to say?"

He glanced back at her, his face impassive. "What do you want me to say, Kagome?"

Kagome bit her lip, and to her horror, she could feel tears forming.

"Tell me what you're feeling," she said, sniffing. "I- I don't know what you think about this kind of thing. Should I have turned him down?"

"Absolutely not," Sesshomaru said firmly. He turned to face her directly, moving closer to her. "Kagome, what have I told you repeatedly about this entire Ouran affair?"

Kagome sniffed. "Act like a normal teenage girl as much as possible."

"And do normal teenage girls go on dates with boys they like?"

"Well, _yes_, but-"

"But _nothing_, Kagome," Sesshomaru said firmly.

"But isn't it like _cheating?_" Kagome wailed. She knew she sounded lost, but she _felt_ lost. "Me liking someone else? I don't _understand,_ Sesshomaru! How are you okay with me going out with a boy when you're expecting me to become your mate some day?"

"Not expecting," Sesshomaru corrected quietly. "Only wanting. Hoping."

He reached for and took her hand, squeezing, and Kagome felt more tears well up.

"Still!"

"Kagome, all is as it should be," Sesshomaru said. "Breathe, Kagome. Breathe. Do not let your emotions overwhelm you."

He rubbed her hand in slow, steady circles, and Kagome felt her breathing gradually even out.

"You say these things as if I do not understand," he told her. His eyes looked up to meet hers. "You must remember: I was young once, too."

Kagome's breath caught. "Oh?"

"Yes."

Kagome watched him rub her hand more, his affection and concern coming through her skin in slow, reassuring pieces. "Did you ever... you know?"

"There was a demonness when I was 50 that I thought I loved," Sesshomaru said matter-of-factly. "I offered to pay her court before my entire family."

Kagome gasped. "What happened?"

"She laughed and snubbed me before everyone, including both my mother and father. I was furious, and I never saw her again." He paused. "I think my mother arranged for her to disappear."

"Oh, Sesshomaru..."

He held up a hand. "It was centuries ago. It matters not. Much like this."

He took her other hand in his, his amber eyes holding hers, and Kagome swallowed hard.

"Kagome," he said. "How old am I?"

Kagome thought.

"Over a thousand years old, right?"

"And how old are you?"

She bit her lip. "Just under 16."

He was tracing designs on the back of her hand again – small, maddening circles.

"And long will you still live, surviving by my side?"

He gently squeezed her hands, and the Shikon thrummed in response, as if answering him.

Kagome turned away.

"Forever," she said quietly, echoing words that had been said over and over, as soon as she'd found out. "With the Shikon, I cannot die."

"Just so." Sesshomaru's hand came up to cup her face, turning it back to look at him gently. Kagome bit her lip, her eyes welling with tears at the longing and deep affection she felt he held for her in his touch, but Sesshomaru gently wiped them away.

"I have waited five hundred years for you, Kagome," he told her, "but you are still very young. Go, and have your teenage romance. Go, and find a human boy to make you laugh. Go – find a human husband I can foist this entire wretched business off onto before we fake our deaths and run off together. Go – and be happy, Kagome. Go, and mature into a woman on your own." His amber eyes held hers, open to her to read. "There will be time enough for you and me after."

Kagome hiccupped, trying to hold back her tears.

"That's kind of morbid, you telling me it's okay for me to be with someone else because we can always be together after he dies," she told him, and Sesshomaru snorted.

"I fully anticipate you to get sick of whatever human paramour you choose before his death arrives," he told her. "And even if not – what is 50 years to a demon who will live 5000? We will outlast everything, Kagome. Do not worry for my feelings on this matter. It is more important that your own feelings are given time to fully mature."

Kagome sniffed, looking up at him through tear-damp lashes.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I mean, I've been on the other end of this! I don't want to put you through-"

"Kagome," Sesshomaru said, his eyes holding hers intently, his amber gaze piercing. "You tell me: am I sure?"

He squeezed her hand, and Kagome let her eyes drift closed, breathing deeply.

Sesshomaru's deep longing for her was there, as it always was – his desire to have a mate, someone he could relate to and talk to, someone he enjoyed that he could be with forever – and his affection was there as well, oddly paternal at times, but never relenting. Under that, though, she felt a deep sense of peace. Sesshomaru _had_ come to terms with this – many years ago, it seemed, before she'd even been born. He had been _expecting_ it, almost, she could feel, and he had been prepared. He was ultimately unconcerned – human mortality would bring her back to him in the end, and that was all that mattered.

"You mean it," she told him finally, opening her eyes again. His eyes locked with hers, and she huffed. "But even your _emotions_ are cold, Sesshomaru! Just waiting until all the humans I like die..."

A smirk flickered on Sesshomaru's face.

"Can you blame me?" he drawled. "Humans are annoying."

"I'll have you know_ I'm_ a human!" Kagome retorted defiantly, folding her arms.

"You, my dear, are more definitely _not_ human," Sesshomaru said, drawing her closer. "You are the Goddess of the Shikon Jewel, a creature unlike any other, and more deserving of humans' _worship _than anything else to do with them. But I will let you have your little delusions for now, if it will let you rest easier and come to the realization on your own."

"Oh, Sesshomaru-!"

But Sesshomaru only laughed – a quiet, amused chuckle she managed to rouse from him from time to time. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, before he gave her a mocking bow and moved away, pulling Tenseiga from his belt once more.

"Go on your date, and have fun, Kagome," he told her, going through a warm up kata. "But take either the fox or the wolf with you. I don't want you going out alone."

Kagome laughed weakly.

"Koga would die of jealousy," she said. "If I must, I'll take Shippo."

Sesshomaru smirked, and Kagome turned to go.

"Oh, and Kagome?"

Kagome turned, and Sesshomaru's eyes were liquid amber once more, roving over her body.

"Make sure you wear something appropriate to the date," he murmured. "Even I have my limits."

Kagome shivered under his gaze.

"I will," she assured, breathless. "I will."

* * *

Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment for you, but it means the world to me!


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: I got _tons_ to feedback from you all from the last chapter! I love it :D! I love that you guys are really getting into it. Thank you so much for your reviews! There's a lot more to come, so be ready for the story's twists and turns~! :D**

* * *

Kyoya was just coming home on Sunday afternoon after going out to make some arrangements, and was thus ill prepared for the sudden assault.

"Kyoya!"

Kyoya looked up and only just managed to dodge his sister, who came running at him with a beaming smile and open arms. She ran past him, skidded to a stop, and lunged at him, glomming onto him from behind.

"Be decent, Fuyumi," he chided. "You're married, now."

"But I haven't seen you in _forever!_" She pulled back, holding her hands to her heart. "And I _miss_ you, dear brother! Being a housewife doesn't mean I'm not still your sister!"

"You saw me two months ago," Kyoya reminded her. "Do you really expect too much to have changed since then?"

To his alarm, Fuyumi's eyes gleamed.

"I heard you showed up Akito in front of father," she said. "Something to do with his new clinic...?"

_Oh. _Kyoya winced._ That._

"Fine," he conceded. "We will catch up."

Fuyumi clapped her hands, enthusiastic, and Kyoya sighed, before sending a servant for coffee and leading his sister up to his rooms.

His own parlor in his rooms had an excellent coffee table, imported from a top-of-the-line Italian designer. Kyoya helped Fuyumi to one side, before he sat on the other. The servant arrived with their coffees a moment later, and they both took a moment to just enjoy the exquisite aroma of the blend before taking a sip.

"Superb," Fuyumi murmured, setting her coffee down with a smile. "As always."

"Of course." Kyoya set his own down, letting it cool. "Now, sister, tell me: what exactly are you up to?"

Fuyumi's eyes glinted.

"You've changed," she accused. "You... you're doing un-Kyoya things – good things, mind, not bad – but I want to know why. What's going on?"

"UnKyoya-like things?" Kyoya raised his eyebrows. "Don't be ridiculous."

"You _are_. You let me hug you earlier."

Kyoya scoffed. "You wouldn't have stopped your squealing until I did!"

"That's never stopped you before," Fuyumi pointed out slyly. "You've always just let me wallow in misery without a hug from my dear brother."

"A poor impulse on my part, then, if this is how you repay me," Kyoya shot back. "I assure you, it won't happen again."

"But that's not the only thing," Fuyumi objected. "For example, take this issue with the new clinic."

He scoffed. "Oh, what would _you _have had me do? Nothing?"

"No," Fuyumi said. "But in the past, Kyoya... in the past, you would have waited for Akito's failure to become evident on its own, or you would have told Akito so he could fix it himself."

"Don't be ridiculous," Kyoya said. "You're saying I would have let the Ootori name publicly suffer because of my brother's failings in Human Resources?"

"I'm saying you would have been more subtle about it, whatever you did." Fyumi's eyes were narrowed on his. "You definitely wouldn't have made a plan of how to prove your accusations, and you _definitely_ wouldn't have gone to father without already having proof in your hands, if you'd gone to father at all."

"Is it that odd?" Kyoya defended. "To tell father of my concerns?"

"_Yes._ Kyoya, you _never_ do that. Don't you see the difference?"

Fuyumi was biting her lip, searching for words. Kyoya took another sip of his coffee, waiting patiently.

"You've always been seeking his approval, his acceptance," Fuyumi said finally. "With this... you acted like you already had it. Like you didn't need his approval anymore."

Kyoya stopped.

She…

She was right.

He hadn't realized it – it'd crept up on him so slowly, he'd never noticed. But she was _right_ – and it was a frightening thing.

All his life, he'd been striving to be the perfect third son, while still fighting to come out on top, to be named his father's heir, not just put in charge of some lesser branch of the company. All his efforts had been aimed at this goal – of proving himself, of being chosen, of being recognized and rewarded for his true worth and hard work.

Somewhere along the line, that had changed.

Actually, Kyoya thought...

He knew _exactly_ when it had changed.

It had changed when he'd met Kagome.

Kagome was... she made him feel _complete_, in a way he'd never felt before. They weren't even _dating_, but she made him feel like everything he could ever be. When he talked with her, he was constantly thinking of new ideas, great potentials in new areas they could reach together – like her magic healing broken bones, for example – he could only _imagine_ the success of a clinic that could do that. Or her uncanny ability to find out potential corporate disasters from a brief visit – however she did it, they could make a _killing_ as corporate consultants to the greatest. He'd even...

Kyoya swallowed hard. It was hard to admit, even in the secret depths of his heart.

He'd even thought of abandoning the Ootori empire.

If Kagome _was_ an heiress, and if he was able to... if she felt the same... if he managed to...

Well. He could end up running some _other_ company _entirely_, with Kagome at his side.

Kyoya cleared his throat, pulling himself out of his quiet reflections in his mind.

"You're right," he told her, and Fuyumi smirked. "I've changed. Nothing bad, I assure you. I think I've just... matured a bit."

"Yuuichi and Akito _still _haven't reached the level you have," Fuyumi said flatly, a smirk spreading across her lips. "They'd _never_ have talked to father so directly, in the straight man-to-man way you did."

In retrospect, Kyoya hadn't even considered how forthright and direct he'd been with his father, as if he were an equal, not a son. He winced.

"I didn't intend to," he said. "I just... the issue..."

"Kyoya-kun," Fuyumi said, grabbing his hands. Her wide eyes peered into his. "Tell me: what's changed you?"

Kyoya held her eyes for a moment, before looking away.

"It's nothing," he murmured. "It's nothing."

He heard her let out a quiet gasp.

"It's a girl, isn't it?"

His head whipped around to face her, and Fuyumi was covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes filled with pity.

"You like a girl, don't you?" she whispered. "Oh, Kyoya... don't do this to yourself..."

"I'm not doing _anything_," Kyoya shot back. "We haven't even gone on a date. And why _shouldn't _I date a girl? Father's still putting Yuuichi on omiai and casting about for candidates for Akito. By the time he gets to me, he'll be sick of the entire thing. What will he mind if I can find a better match for myself?"

"Can you?" Fuyumi wanted to know. "Father's very particular. It has to be a very beneficial pairing for him to concede. What is she? Heir to a medical equipment company? Owner of vast beachside properties and condos?"

Kyoya had to look away.

"...I don't know," he admitted.

"You don't _know?_"

"It's _complicated,_" he retorted. "Fuyumi, this girl... she is _complicated._ I don't know who her guardian is, what she stands to inherit, even who she _is_, but Fuyumi..." His eyes flashed. "I _will_ have her. And nothing father does will be able to stop me."

Fuyumi looked shocked.

"You're in love." Her eyes were wide. "You're in _love_. When did that happen?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Kyoya said dismissively. "I haven't even taken her out yet."

"So?" Fuyumi looked up at him, her eyes worried. "Does that matter? That you haven't formally taken her on a date? Or do you know enough about her and who she is from your acquaintance with her already?"

She held Kyoya's gaze, biting her lip.

"You know her well enough to have made up your mind about her," she murmured. "And you're willing to fight _father_ for her – even already! Kyoya, if that's not love, what _is?_"

Kyoya hesitated, before shaking his head.

"Fuyumi, love is irrational and unproductive. I barely know what love _is._" He raised an eyebrow, almost ironically. "If love is all it's said to be... don't you think I'd _know?"_

Fuyumi bit her lip, and Kyoya sighed, gathering up the empty coffee cups.

"Not a word of this to anyone," he told her, going to the door. "Not to mother, not to Yuuichi, not to Akito, and certainly not to father. Not even to your husband, dear sister. Not a _word_."

Fuyumi held a finger to her lips.

"I won't tell," she promised. "But... Kyoya?"

Kyoya looked up at her, and she gave him a wobbly half-smile.

"I'm cheering for you," she whispered, before she fled out the door.

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**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment for you, but it means the world to me :)**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Haha, I adore your reviews! Thank you so much for them! So many of you are so anguished over the story and what will happen with Kyoya, Nekozawa, and Sesshomaru, which is excellent. It means I'm doing the story right... :P**

* * *

Monday brought a flurry of customers who were still excited from the party on Friday night.

"Oh Tamaki, the party was so wonderful!" Hino exclaimed, clasping her hands to her chest. "You were magnificent as a vampire!"

"And the trick-or-treating!" Yukiko added, clasping her hands to her blushing cheeks. "Oh, Tamaki-sama~!"

There was a group swoon, and Kagome could see Kyoya hide his smirk behind his notebook.

"For you ladies to join me on the Halloween, the darkest night of the year, brought such heavenly light into my life that I cannot compare," Tamaki proclaimed, looking deeply into their eyes, and there was a romantic sigh from the girls.

"Does that sentence even make sense?" Kyoya muttered behind his notebook, and Kagome hid a smile.

It was such a wonderful day. Though nothing had changed, the Host Club seemed to have a different feel to it. And everything just seemed… _more_.

The colors seemed brighter, for one. Had the walls always been such a perfect shade? And her uniform – the fabric suddenly felt much richer, much more sensual on her skin, as she brushed her skirt down. And the smells-! The world just seemed so much more _vivid,_ but Kagome found she couldn't describe it. _Wouldn't_ describe it, either – it seemed too wonderful to tell anyone, lest the secret be ruined by sharing it with someone else.

And, of course, Kyoya had asked her out.

Kagome was aware she was smiling too much. Her guests were taken aback she could tell – some of them seemed almost dazzled under her smile – but she couldn't stop. She was just so _happy_...

And nervous, actually. Quite nervous. How was she supposed to act around Kyoya now?

But he'd asked her out-!

Even if she was nervous, she found she couldn't care.

When the clock finally chimed, Kagome was glad to see her guests go, though she let them off with a happy wave that they returned, all of the blushing like mad. They'd adjusted to her enthusiastic demeanor, though they were all embarrassed and flattered at her obvious interest, and she wondered what they'd think when they returned tomorrow, only to have her cold and dismissive with them once more.

She shrugged to herself. Hot and cold, she supposed. It would work – it had kept _her_ hanging on for years and years, after all.

The others were gathering in the center – planning, she supposed. She caught Haruhi's eye, and she and Haruhi went to join them.

"Thanksgiving costumes are _not_ appropriate," Kyoya said flatly. "We can do another cosplay, but we are _not_ doing that."

"But it's thematically appropriate!" Tamaki insisted. "It's November!"

"We're in _Japan_!" Kyoya retorted. "Thanksgiving _isn't_ our holiday, Tamaki!"

Tamaki sniffed, defeated.

"We still need a theme, though," he said petulantly. "Something fun, that we haven't done before."

"We could be pirates!" Hikaru suggested.

"We've _done_ pirates!" Tamaki said complained.

The twins exchanged a look. "So?"

"There are lots of things better than pirates that we can be," Haruhi said. "Just think: we could be serviceman, we could be bouncers, we could be swimmers..."

Kyoya adjusted his glasses, hiding a smirk, and Kagome had to stifle a snicker.

"_Servicemen?_" Hikaru said incredulously.

"_Bouncers?_" Kaoru wanted to know.

"Swimmers?" Even Tamaki looked lost. "Haruhi, the school isn't going to let us parade around just in swimsuits."

A shame, though, Kagome thought, eyeing Kyoya up. She'd like to see him in a swimsuit. Or as a merman – just bare-chested, with a strong fin tail...

An idea sparked.

"How about the zodiac?" Kagome asked. "Have you done that?"

Kyoya and Tamaki turned to look at her.

"What, like the dragon and rat and snake?" Tamaki looked confused. "Kagome, animal costumes aren't exactly..."

"_No_. Not the Chinese zodiac. The traditional one." Kagome cast a critical eye on the group. "You could be Leo, Tamaki – the proud, majestic lion. Hikaru and Kaoru are practically made to be Gemini. Haruhi could be Pisces or Libra – she'd make a great beacon of justice, really – and Honey-senpai could be-"

"I want to be Pisces!" Honey clapped. "I'd make a cute merman, don't you think?"

Tamaki looked stunned.

"The lion," he said, looking at his hands. He held his head up high. "I am _made_ to play Leo – confident, generous, encouraging..."

"Pretentious," Kyoya muttered under his breath, and Kagome caught it, stifling a giggle. Kyoya's eyes darted to hers, and his lips quirked.

"Melodramatic," she whispered, listing another trait, and Kyoya's smirk grew.

"Domineering," he murmured.

"Stubborn," Kagome added.

"Vain."

"We will do the Zodiac as our next cosplay!" Tamaki announced, having apparently come to a decision while swirling about in his sudden bout of lion-esque pride. "Kyoya, can we do that?"

"With a bit of luck, we can have it ready by this Thursday," Kyoya said, typing. "If not, next Tuesday – we don't have as many customers on Mondays."

Kaoru quirked his head.

"Thursday to Tuesday?" he asked. "I get why not the Monday, but why not Friday?"

Kyoya's eyes gleamed. "I have plans on Friday."

"Oh_ no_." The twins exchanged a wide-eyed look of barely concealed glee. "The Shadow Lord is _planning_."

There was a collective gasp around the table from the Host Club. Kagome gave Haruhi a quizzical look, but she just groaned.

"Kyoya's planning is _infamous_," Hikaru told Kagome, a wicked spark in his eyes. "The last time he started _planning_, Libya had a revolution."

"That was unrelated," Kyoya objected.

"Then what was your goal with the secret planning?" Kaoru shot back. "It _wasn't_ changing the world oil market to hurt your American competitors?"

Kyoya rolled his eyes and ignored him.

"So who's going down, Kyoya?" Hikaru said, moving to his left, propping his head up on his hands to look at him. "Who are you plotting against this time?"

"You can tell us," Kaoru added, propping his head up as well. "We won't tell _anyone..._"

Kyoya snapped his laptop shut.

"Not that type of plans," he informed them, packing his computer away. "Plans to make sure Saturday goes perfectly."

"Saturday?" Tamaki looked intrigued. "Does your father have an important meeting, Kyoya?"

"No." Kyoya smiled, and there was a wicked gleam in his eyes – Kagome's only warning. "I have a date."

There was an instant uproar, and Kyoya promptly ignored the onslaught of questions and exclamations to turn to Kagome.

"By the way, Kagome," he said, offering her a nod of his head. "Might you be free this Saturday?"

There was another uproar, all of the others staring at her, exclaiming. Kagome felt her face flush, but she couldn't stop herself from laughing at Kyoya's pointed theatrics.

"As it so happens, I am," she told him.

"Will that day work for our date?"

His smile was overly charming, a mockery of the wide princely grins Tamaki gave his customers, and Kagome giggled. "It will," she answered, fluttering her eyelashes repeatedly.

Kyoya straightened and smirked.

"Then I shall pick you up at 10am," he told her. "We'll have the entire day to ourselves."

"I hardly think that would work," Kagome shot back, smirking. "You'd hardly know where to send the car."

"You will not share with me your address?"

She laughed. "Apparently not."

"Pity." Kyoya seemed unperturbed, his eyes amused. "In that case, meet me at this address at 10am Saturday morning."

He handed her a small card with a prewritten address on it, with no inclination of what sort of place she'd be meeting him at. Kagome read over the address, took in the quirk in his lips, and gave him a teasing smile.

"I look forward to it, Kyoya-senpai," she said sweetly.

"Oh, believe me, Kagome," he said, his eyes holding hers. "Not as much as I am."

They held each other's gaze for a long moment, before Kagome broke the moment by laughing, and Kyoya started chuckling as well.

"I- I don't- what _is_ all this?" Tamaki exclaimed. He looked utterly lost.

"Kyoya asked you out?" Haruhi asked her, grinning. "He did, didn't he?"

Kagome nodded. "At the Halloween party."

Haruhi laughed. "_Finally_," she teased, and Kagome flushed.

"Why didn't I know about any of this?" Tamaki wailed. "This- this isn't appropriate! My daughter cannot be dating her own _mother-!_"

"I guess I'm not your daughter then," Kagome said, shrugging with an easy grin. "I'll have to be something else."

"Well, _I'm_ the father," Tamaki said crossly, folding his arms. "So you can't have that, even if you _are_ going on a date with Kyoya."

"That's fine by me," Kagome said, her eyes dancing. "I'll just be his mistress."

The uproar _that_ statement caused sent Kagome and Haruhi both into a fit of giggles, though Kyoya's eyes seemed to watch her with something that seemed almost wary, filled with some unknown kind of concern.

* * *

**Read it? Please, review! It only takes a moment for you, but it means the world to me :) Please, review!  
**


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